No, I meant I don't know enough to recognize what to ignore in the 2022 E/M COURSE. The course is not broken down into 1995 vs 2021 guidelines, etc. All guidelines are interdispersed throughout the chapter. I wouldn't even be able to recongize a 2021 guideline from any other because I haven't taken the course yet. See my dilemma? Is the webinar you mentioned good for people who have never ever seen E/M before?
A really, really basic gist of it is:
2021:
The changes were for Outpatient Office Visits. Most E/M utilization typically falls under this category (ex - your office visits to your doctor). This category doesn't change for 2023.
The CPC exam has 6 questions in the E/M section. Most of your 6 E/M exam questions will likely be about this type of E/M visit. Your 2022 CPC course is covering current information for this category of E/M visits.
2023:
Revisions were rolled out to the other categories of E/M codes. Ex - Inpatient visits, observation visits, nursing home visits, home visits, etc.
Remember that on the CPC exam, you only have 6 total questions about E/M and most will be about the outpatient office visits.
Of the 6 E/M questions on the CPC exam, you
might have 1-2 questions that relate to the categories that changed in 2023. (
Maybe 3 questions tops) The remaining 3-5 questions in the E/M section should be about that outpatient office visit stuff you're learning in your 2022 CPC class.
Long story short...even if you completely pretended that the 2023 E/M guideline changes don't exist and only learn what's taught in your 2022 CPC class, it would still only impact 1-2 (
maybe 3) total questions out of 100 on your entire CPC exam.
That's not to say the 2023 changes aren't important - the changes are very important, especially for people who code the affected E/M categories on the job. But in terms of the CPC exam, the 2023 changes aren't going to make or break your overall score. Hopefully that helps put your mind at ease!
(FWIW, my employer provided training on the 2023 changes, but I don't use those E/M categories on a regular basis. My physicians only do maybe 3-5 inpatient visits a year - none so far in 2023. By the time one crosses my desk, I'll need a refresher again!)