Question: Will we have to base every E/M coding decision on only time and medical decision making in 2021? New Jersey Subscriber Answer: Beginning in calendar year (CY) 2021, you’ll report code range 99202-99215 (Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of a new/established patient …) exclusively based on either time or medical decision making (MDM). The 1995/1997 E/M guidelines will still apply to the remaining E/M subsections. Keep in mind: The new guidelines on time reporting will vary slightly from the current 50 percent threshold guidelines. As of 2021, counseling and coordination of care services will not need to account for 50 percent of the visit in order to use time to determine E/M level. Rather, you’ll calculate the total amount of time spent with the patient, including non-face-face time used for prep and concluding the encounter, and report the respective code with an aligning typical time estimate. The times associated with each code and the MDM chart for 2021 has changed from what we know currently. Stay tuned to future issues of General Surgery Coding Alert for updates on the time/ code relationship.