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Online Digital Evaluation e-visits

Guidelines

  • Online digital evaluation and management (E/M) services (99421, 99422, 99423) are patient-initiated services with physicians or other qualified health care professionals (QHPs). 
  • It requires a physician or other QHP's evaluation, assessment, and management of the patient. 
  • These services are not for the nonevaluative electronic communication of test results, scheduling of appointments, or other communication that does not include E/M. 
  • While the patient's problem may be new to the physician or other QHP, the patient is an established patient. 
  • Patients initiate these services through Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-compliant secure platforms, such as electronic health record (EHR) portals, secure email, or other digital applications, which allow digital communication with the physician or other QHP.
  • Online digital E/M services are reported once for the physician's or other QHP's cumulative time devoted to the service during a seven-day period. 
  • Physician's or other QHP's cumulative service time includes a review, Initial inquiry,  review of patient records or data pertinent to an assessment of the patient's problem, 
  • The personal physician or other QHP interaction with clinical staff focused, the patient's problem, development of management plans, 
  • Including physician- or other QHP generation of prescriptions or ordering of tests, and subsequent communication with the patient through online, telephone, email, or other digitally supported communication, which does not otherwise represent a separately reported E/M service. 
  • When the online digital inquiry is related to a surgical procedure and occurs during the postoperative period of a previously completed procedure, then the online digital E/M service is not reported separately. 
  • When the patient generates the initial online digital inquiry for a new problem within seven days of a previous E/M visit that addressed a different problem, then the online digital E/M service may be reported separately. 
  • When the patient presents a new, unrelated problem during the seven-day period of an online digital E/M service, then the physician's or other QHP's time spent on evaluation, assessment, and management of the additional problem is added to the cumulative service time of the online digital E/M service for that seven-day period.

Physicians

  • CPT 99421 - Online digital evaluation and management service, for an established patient, for up to 7 days, a cumulative time during the 7 days; 5-10 minutes
  • CPT 99422 - CPT 99421 - Online digital evaluation and management service, for an established patient, for up to 7 days, a cumulative time during the 7 days; 11-20 minutes
  • CPT 99423 - CPT 99421 - Online digital evaluation and management service, for an established patient, for up to 7 days, a cumulative time during the 7 days; 21 or more minutes

Non-physicians (NPs & PAs)

  • CPT 98970 - Qualified nonphysician health care professional online digital assessment and management, for an established patient, for up to 7 days, a cumulative time during the 7 days; 5-10 minutes
  • CPT 98971 - Qualified nonphysician health care professional online digital assessment and management, for an established patient, for up to 7 days, a cumulative time during the 7 days; 11-20 minutes
  • CPT 98972 - Qualified nonphysician health care professional online digital assessment and management, for an established patient, for up to 7 days, a cumulative time during the 7 days; 21 OR more minutes



2021 E&M Changes


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