Primary Care Coding Alert
Base PT Code Choice on Modality
Question: If the FP administers 25 minutes of electrical stimulation physical therapy (PT) followed by 15 minutes of massage PT, how should I code the encounter? Should I select two different codes, or combine the PT times and report a single code? New Mexico Subscriber On the claim, Follow the -eight-minute rule-: When compiling PT time, do not report a 15-minute unit of PT unless you have performed at least eight minutes of therapy. So in your scenario, if the FP performed 20 minutes of electrical stimulation PT instead of 25, you would report 97032 once instead of twice. Explanation: If the FP performs 20 minutes of PT, that means he has performed one full unit of 97032 and only five minutes of additional PT. Best bet: Don't code for two units of PT until you reach 23 minutes of therapy time
Answer: There is an entire set of PT codes, grouped by PT method. You-ll report CPT codes for each type of PT in your encounter.
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