Beware of CPT® and Medicare differences when counting HPI elements. Not accurately accounting for the history of present illness (HPI) documented by your ophthalmologist could result in missing appropriate opportunities to report level 4 or 5 E/M visits. Ensure you're not missing higher paying possibilities by reviewing this guide to capturing HPI elements. Brush Up on What Qualifies as an HPI Element HPI is one of the three elements comprising an E/M history. It describes the patient's present illness or problem, from the first sign/symptom to the current status, and typically drives a provider's decisions about the physical examination, diagnostic tests, and treatment. "The information gathered during the physical exam (PE) portion of a patient's evaluation often only shows a very limited picture of the patient's problem. However, speaking with a patient and gathering the history of the patient's problem" can help fill out the picture, explains Amanda S. Stoltman, CCS-P, compliance coder at a practice in Muncie, Ind. Start counting: Medicare includes the above list in both the 1995 and 1997 E/M Documentation Guidelines, available at www.cms.gov/MLNEdWebGuide/25_EMDOC.asp. In contrast: Therefore, for Medicare and payers following its guidelines, you should consider duration and timing separately. With payers that follow AMA rules, however, be aware that they don't consider duration and timing to be two separate elements. Rumor has it this may change in a future edition of CPT®, though. Keep an eye out for 2012 revisions. Start Counting to Differentiate Brief, Extended There are two different types of HPI: brief and extended. If your ophthalmologist documents one to three HPI elements, then he performed a brief HPI. When you have a brief HPI you won't be able to code any higher than a level two new-patient E/M (99202, Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of a new patient ...), regardless of the encounter's other specifics. For an established patient, a brief HPI can support up to and including 99213 (Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of an established patient ...) (assuming other requirements are met). The reason is that with only a brief HPI, the highest possible history level is "expanded problem focused," according to the 1995 and 1997 documentation guidelines (assuming the visit meets the other history elements). Alternative: Example: Caution: Ensure the Provider Documents the HPI Remember that the physician must be the one who obtains the HPI. He cannot use or report the information obtained by his staff. Your ophthalmologist must personally obtain, rewrite or restate, and document the HPI if he expects to receive credit and reimbursement for services where the HPI becomes critical to scoring the E/M level of care. Just adding to the HPI obtained by staff does not meet this requirement. Only the physician should obtain and document the HPI. Any employee in your practice, or even the patient himself, can document the other two elements of the history, Borrero says. In fact, the E/M service documentation guidelines state that ancillary staff may obtain and record the review of systems (ROS) and/or past family social history (PFSH). However, documentation guidelines require that the information obtained by others must be attested to. Specifically E/M guidelines state, "To document that the physician reviewed the information, there must be a notation supplementing or confirming the information recorded by others." This pertains to the ROS/PFSH as allowed by the guidelines. Reminder: