Wiki 2021 Office E/M guidelines

[ccahill]

1. If an orthopedist orders bilateral MRI of the knees – is this considered two unique tests?CPT would have laterality of right and then left.

Or is this only one - based on the CPT?

2. Orthopedic provider performs a xray of the shoulder during the visit, then orders an xray of the same shoulder for follow up/future.

Does this count as two unique tests?

If we were to count the “future” order (for this 1st visit), does the provider then get credit again when the pt returns and the xray is taken at the next pt visit?

 

[lcolborn]

Answer
1 . Based on CPT Code ..., therefore if the code is for bilateral MRI of the knees, then it's counted as one.
2. Are you billing for the x-rays or are they being sent for outside facility? If you are billing , it cannot be counted towards the MDM at all. And if you're not billing for it, it only counts as one for the reason being, they are the same cpt code( ordered and reviewed).
3. For every test ordered, includes the review for when the patient comes back for the results, no points counted.