Ensure you have documentation of each system -- or prepare to assign a lower code. Level-four and level-five office visits are not uncommon in a urology practice, but if you incorrectly tally the history, exam, and medical decision-making (MDM), you will miss out on the higher level codes you could report. The third element for the historical portion of an E/M service, after the chief complaint (CC) and the history of the present illness (HPI), is the review of systems (ROS) -- this portion of the E/M service trips up many coders because often they must select a lower code simply because the provider didn't document pertinent negative responses or inappropriately used the statement "all systems negative." Ensure you're properly counting your urologist's ROS with this primer to guarantee you're not overcoding or undercoding his E/M services. Differentiate ROS Levels "The review of systems is a subjective account of a patient's current and or past experiences with illnesses and or injuries affecting any of the 14 applicable organ systems," explains Nicole Martin, CPC, manager of the medical practice management section of the Medical Society in New Jersey in Lawrenceville. You'll need to know the differences between the three ROS levels to determining the proper level of history and therefore, E/M code level: Problem-pertinent: A problem-pertinent ROS supports a level two new patient E/M service (99202) or a level three established patient E/M service (99213). Extended: An extended ROS can support a level three new patient service (99203) or a level four established patient service (99214). Although a urologist primarily treats the genitourinary system, "he has the whole picture as there may be factors that are pertinent to the urologic problem," says Ruth Borrero, claims analyst at Prohealth Care department of urology in Lake Success, N.Y. Complete: Learn the Systems You Will Be Counting One of the systems that you'll see your urologist address during a ROS, is of course the genitourinary (GU) system. Examples of a GU ROS might include symptoms such as nocturia, urinary frequency, urinary pain, incontinence, hematuria, renal colic, or testicular pain, Borrero says. In addition to the GU system, there are 13 other systems your urologist might review: constitutional; eyes; ear, nose, and throat; cardiovascular; respiratory; gastrointestinal; musculoskeletal; integumentary; neurological; psychiatric; endocrine; hematologic/ lymphatic; and allergic/immunologic, Martin explains. Example: In the same example, your urologist may also ask about fever (constitutional), abdominal pain (gastrointestinal), and excessive thirst (endocrine), which may result in an extended ROS. How it works: Tip: Determine Who Can Record the ROS The urologist does not necessarily need to record the ROS himself. "The ROS may be documented by the patient or auxiliary staff as long as the physician/NPP initials and dates patient populated forms and states they reviewed and/or agree with this documentation," Martin says. Example: "It helps our doctors and nurse practitioners to have the patient fill out a questionnaire that addresses their problems when they come to an appointment to make sure that all problems are address during their encounter," Boone says. "I encourage this as a good way to make sure that ROS is documented completely." Stay tuned: