Cardiology Coding Alert

Code language will better reflect current practice.CPT® 2013 will revise nearly every code descriptor in the E/M code section. Fortunately, once you identify the common theme, the long list of revisions becomes a lot less overwhelming. The revisions won't be finalized until later in the fall, but we'll review the changes now to get your preparations for Jan. 1, 2013, implementation rolling.Remove 'Physician' Limitations From E/M Most E/M codes refer only to "physicians" in their descriptors, but that will change effective January 1, when the descriptors will add "qualified health care professionals."Using 99213 as an example, the code changes are indicated with the strikethroughs (indicating deleted text) and underlining (indicating new text) as follows: Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of an established patient, which requires at least 2 of these 3 key components: An expanded problem focused history; An expanded problem focused examination; Medical decision [...]