Orthopedic Coding Alert

Question: One of our surgeons has subspecialty credentials for elbow to finger procedures. If he sees a patient for an ankle problem, then sees the same patient the next year for a wrist  problem, how do we classify the patient?Oregon SubscriberAnswer: Consider the patient "established" and report office visits with the appropriate choice from 99211-99215 (Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of an established patient ...).Remember: A patient's status doesn't change just because she sees your physician for a different complaint (or for a different area of his specialty). If the physician sees her within a three-year window for any problem, consider her an established patient. If she goes longer than three years between visits, you can classify her as a new patient at her first visit and choose from 99201-99204 (Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of a new patient ...). [...]