Growth in E/M use heavily favors higher level codes

Why This Topic Matters

The article helps readers understand broader utilization shifts that can affect documentation review, compliance attention, and Medicare spending patterns without assuming the full article has been read.

Article Sections

1. Billing trends and practice perspectives

   Summarizes Medicare billing pattern changes and includes commentary from practice coding professionals on documentation, education, and compliance considerations.

2. Denial rates remain steady

   Reviews denial patterns for established-patient evaluation and management services over time and compares year-to-year rates.

3. Most-billed code sees slight decline

   Discusses how the most frequently billed code changed in volume and places that change in the context of longer-term E/M utilization shifts.

4. E/M billing patterns for new and established patient visits, 2000-2005

   Presents a tabular comparison of billing volumes and percentage changes for commonly used new-patient and established-patient visit codes across multiple years.