Primary Care Coding Alert

Question: An established Medicare patient with a plan of care in place for his uncontrolled type II diabetes reports to the practice medication check (the patient has been in frequently, as it has been difficult to decide on the proper insulin regimen to treat his diabetes). The nonphysician practitioner (NPP) performs some blood and lab work, and then discusses the results with the patient.They decide on a new daily insulin intake, and the NPP discharges the patient; notes indicate a level-three E/M service. During the entire encounter, Dr. P was in the office suite and immediately available to assist the NPP. The patient's care plan, however, was initiated by Dr. F. Can I report this service incident-to the physician? Minnesota SubscriberAnswer: Yes, you can code incident-to Dr. P, as he was the supervising physician for the encounter.On the claim, report 99213 (Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and [...]