Neurology & Pain Management Coding Alert

Question: An attorney requested our neurologists opinion regarding an automobile accident. He reviewed the chart and dictated a letter. Would this be coded as medical testimony, or would he have to be under oath to assign this code?

Illinois Subscriber

Answer: Code 99075 (medical testimony) is used when a physicians practice reports time spent providing testimony under oath in the judicial system, so it would not be applicable in this case. Typically, the physician would directly bill the attorney who requested the letter. However, if a carrier were billed, 99080 (special reports such as insurance forms, more than the information conveyed in the usual medical communications or standard reporting form) would be the most appropriate code. This code allows physicians to be reimbursed for communications more extensive than those typically required when treating a patient.


Answered by Tiffany Z. Eggers, JD, MPA, policy director/legislative counsel for the American Association of Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AAEM) in Rochester, Minn; Laureen Jandroep, OTR, CPC, CCS-P, owner of A+ Medical Management and Education, a coding and reimbursement consulting firm and a national CPC training curriculum site in Egg Harbor City, N.J.; Susan Callaway, CPC, CCS-P, an independent coding consultant and educator in North Augusta, S.C.; and Larry Sieden, MD, assistant professor of neurology and director of the University of Maryland Center for Sleep Disorders.