decisionhealth Newsletters, Part B News - 2024 Issue 3 (March)
Implement time, location lessons for FTF and telehealth visits: OIG audit
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Article Overview
This article summarizes an HHS Office of Inspector General review of office and other outpatient evaluation and management telehealth claims during the first nine months of the COVID-19 public health emergency. It highlights documentation and claim-review themes relevant to both face-to-face and telehealth visits, including encounter type, time, platform, and patient location. The piece is aimed at coding, compliance, and audit-review professionals who need to understand the general issues raised by the report and how those issues connect to telehealth policy changes.
Why This Topic Matters
The article matters because it shows what auditors were looking for in telehealth and E/M documentation during a major policy transition period, helping practices focus internal reviews on common risk areas and documentation completeness.
Article Sections
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Tune up time-based services
Discusses documentation focus areas for time-based E/M services and the telehealth policy environment that affected those claims during the early pandemic period.
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Check telehealth charts for 3 errors
Reviews several broad documentation and claim-matching issues found in telehealth charts, along with related compliance concerns and future policy implications.
What You Will Learn
- What an OIG telehealth audit reviewed during the early COVID-19 public health emergency
- Which broad documentation elements are emphasized for telehealth and office/outpatient E/M services
- How telehealth claim review intersects with compliance, platform, and location documentation
- Why internal audits may need to account for changing telehealth policy and documentation expectations
Who Should Read This
- Medical coders
- Coding auditors
- Compliance officers
- Revenue cycle staff
- Practice managers
- Physician documentation reviewers
Codes Discussed
Code Ranges Discussed
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