Reader Question:
Count Places, Not People, for ED Services
Published on Fri Jun 18, 2004
Question: How should I handle services rendered in the emergency department by non-emergency physicians, when there is no emergency-physician involvement? Should I report these services with 99281-99285? New Mexico Subscriber Answer: The bottom line: The ED evaluation and management codes are specific to the site of service, not the type of provider. If the non-emergency physician's services meet the criteria for an ED E/M service, you can appropriately assign one of the following codes:
99281 -- ED visit for the E/M of a patient, which requires these three key components: a problem- focused history, a problem-focused examination, and straightforward medical decision-making
99282 -- ... an expanded problem-focused history, an expanded problem-focused examination, and medical decision-making of low complexity
99283 -- ... an expanded problem-focused history, an expanded problem-focused examination, and medical decision-making of moderate complexity
99284 -- ... a detailed history, a detailed examination, and medical decision-making of moderate complexity
99285 -- ... a comprehensive history, a comprehensive examination, and medical decision-making of high complexity.
