decisionhealth Newsletters, Part B News - 2021 Issue 1 (January)
You should report encounters at the ‘drive-in’ site as a face-to-face visit
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Article Overview
This premium article discusses billing and documentation considerations for drive-in, video-assisted, and other socially distanced encounters during the COVID-19 public health emergency. It focuses on how federal guidance from CMS, DEA, and HHS affects whether an encounter is treated as telehealth or as an in-person service, and it also touches on compliance issues such as charting, time reporting, device security, and monitoring public health emergency declarations. It is useful for coders, billers, compliance staff, and clinicians who need to understand how temporary pandemic-era rules interact with standard office E/M reporting.
Why This Topic Matters
Accurate classification of these encounters affects claim submission, compliance risk, and whether telehealth-related rules apply. The article helps readers understand the general billing context for pandemic-era remote care arrangements and the importance of tracking official guidance as emergency waivers change.
Article Sections
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Question
Introduces a billing scenario involving socially distant patient encounters during the COVID-19 emergency and asks how those encounters should be reported.
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Answer
Provides the article’s general billing guidance and references the federal agency framework that informs the reporting approach.
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Resources
Lists official CMS, DEA, and HHS references for telemedicine, fee-for-service billing, and public health emergency declarations.
What You Will Learn
- How the article frames billing for socially distant encounters during the COVID-19 emergency
- Which federal organizations are referenced for telehealth and emergency guidance
- What kinds of compliance and documentation considerations are discussed for drive-in style visits
- How temporary public health emergency rules can affect reporting and operations
Who Should Read This
- Medical coders
- Medical billers
- Compliance staff
- Practice managers
- Physicians and other treating practitioners
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