dballard2004
True Blue
I have a coding issue that I would like additional opinions on please. Per the CPT guidelines, if the patient presents for a preventative exam and during the course of the exam an abnormality is encountered or a preexisiting issue is addressed and the addtional problem requires addtional work to perform the key components of a problem-oriented E/M service, then you code the preventative code and the code for the addtional office visit with modifier 25 appended.
My question is this...the guidelines state "problem-oriented E/M service" is this interpreted to mean 99201 or 99212? If the addtional complaint was 99213 or higher, would you code it along with the preventative? I'm thinking that if the patient's addtional complaint is 99214, they would be too sick really for a wellness exam.
My question is this...the guidelines state "problem-oriented E/M service" is this interpreted to mean 99201 or 99212? If the addtional complaint was 99213 or higher, would you code it along with the preventative? I'm thinking that if the patient's addtional complaint is 99214, they would be too sick really for a wellness exam.