Question: I have a claim sitting in front of me with the following info: Established patient reports with vomiting and fever. The gastro orders a round of blood/stool tests, recommends some dietary changes and prescribes Prednisone for the condition. The encounter lasted 13 minutes. What E/M code should I use? Answer: There are three components that determine level of service on E/M encounters: history, exam, and medical decision making (MDM). When choosing an E/M code for an established patient, the gastro must satisfy two of these three components to qualify for a particular level of service. The correct code will be determined by the documentation, regardless of the physician's performed work and time involved.
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For example, let's say an established patient reports to the gastro with severe abdominal cramping in his left upper quadrant. The gastro documents a level 1 history, a level 2 exam and provided level 2 medical decision making. In this instance, you should throw out the history component and:
In your scenario, the gastro performed an expanded examination based on the chief complaint (level 3) and provided low-complexity MDM (level 3). On the claim, you should:
Warning: Do not throw out the component with the lowest level of service when reporting E/M services for new patients. When a new patient presents, the gastro must satisfy all three components to code at a certain level of service.
For example, if a new patient presented and the gastro performed a level 1 history, a level 2 exam and provided level 2 MDM, you would: