More physician involvement could signal policy change Your physical medicine and rehab (PM&R) practice could possibly see more consistent reimbursement for acupuncture in 2005, with the advent of four new acupuncture codes based on face-to-face contact. These four new codes (97810, 97811, 97813, 97814) specify more stringent physician involvement and could signal a change in policy toward acupuncture, although many providers are skeptical and are therefore taking a "wait and see" approach.
Payers will no longer recognize deleted codes 97780 (Acupuncture, one or more needles; without electrical stimulation) and 97781 (... with electrical stimulation).
Instead, you should start using:
Heads-up: Because the physician must now have "personal one-on-one contact with the patient," your physician's documentation must include the time factor and the face-to-face component.