Health Information Compliance Alert

Question: Does Medicare reimburse our practice for any telehealth services?

Answer: CMS recently released a MLN Matters fact sheet on the topic that can help guide the way. Keep in mind: CMS notes that Medicare beneficiaries "are eligible for telehealth services only if they are presented from an originating site located in a rural health professional shortage area or in a county outside of a Metropolitan Statistical Area."

Allowable telehealth services include certain consults, office visits, psychotherapy, end-stage renal disease, and pharmacologic management codes, and you should always append modifier GT (Via interactive audio and video telecommunications system) to the applicable CPT code.

For more on Medicare's coverage of telehealth services, visit www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/TelehealthSrvcsfctsht.pdf.