Wiki Telehealth and phone visits

[tscobee]

Does the doctor need to document the total time spent on telehealth and phone visits? I can't find an article from CMS that specifically says time has to be documented.

 

[csperoni]

For telehealth (audio and video), you may bill either on total time or MDM. If there is no documentation of time, then bill on MDM.
For telephone (audio only), all the codes are based on time, regardless of MDM level. Time must be documented. It is in the actual CPT code definitions.