Medical Coding Rights

CPT Code Description: - 94760 - Noninvasive ear or pulse oximetry for oxygen saturation; single determination 94761 - Noninvasive ear or pulse oximetry for oxygen saturation; multiple determinations (e.g., during exercise) The provider and or other qualified healthcare professional takes the oxygen  saturation using the a sensor on the ear or finger from the patients. To perform this service, the doctor places a sensor, such as one in the form of a clip, on the patient’s earlobe or fingertip. The sensor uses a light shining through the body part to measure the oxygen saturation, detecting the differences in the ways blood cells with and without oxygen reflect light.   The Oxygen saturation, is also called as O2 sat, and the percentage of hemoglobin carrying oxygen molecules.   Guidelines: - The CPT Codes ranges from 94010 to 94799 include laboratory procedure(s) and interpretation of test results. If a separate identifiable evaluation and management service is performed on the same day

Domiciliary, Rest Home, or Custodial Care Services CPT codes 99324 - 99337 Domiciliary, Rest Home (e.g. Boarding Home), or Custodial Care Services, are used to report E/M services to individuals residing in a facility which provides room, board, and other personal assistance services, generally on a long-term basis.  These codes are also used to report E/M services in an assisted living facility. The facility’s services do not include a medical component. A home or domiciliary visit includes a patient History, Physical Examination and Medical Decision Making in various levels depending upon a patient’s needs and diagnosis.  The visits may also be performed as counseling and/or coordination of car, when medically necessary outside the office environment and are an integral part of a continuous of the patient's care.  The patients seen may have chronic conditions, may be disabled, either physically or mentally, making access to a traditional office visit very difficult, or may have l

To qualify for Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) extended care services coverage, Medicare patients must meet the 3-day rule before SNF admission.  The 3-day rule requires, Three-day-consecutive inpatient hospital stay.  Three-day-consecutive stay counts inpatient setting. Starting with the calendar day of hospital admission. Doesn’t include the day of discharge or any pre-admission time spent in the ER or outpatient observation. SNF extended care services are an extension of care a patient needs after a hospital discharge or within 30 days of their hospital stay (unless admitting them within 30 days is medically inappropriate). Example A 68-year-old male patient went to the hospital ER after falling on May 17th from his home and a physician admitted him to the hospital on the same day. On subsequently May 20, the hospital discharged him to SNF extended care services.  For this case, the patient did qualify the 3-day rule. Hospitals can count the admission day (May 17th to May19th), but n

Remote physiologic monitoring (RPM) technology comes in various devices that monitor glucose levels, BP, weight management, sleep patterns, heart rate, vital signs, and many other types of patient data. RPM allows patients to be involved in their own care by giving them access to their health data in real-time. For providing RPM services to the patients and staff time spent monitoring the respective beneficiary. These actions are billable through four CPT codes, 99453 - Initial set up and patient education 99454 - Supply of devices and collection, transmission, and summary of services 99457 - First 20 minutes of remote physiologic monitoring by clinical staff/MD/QHCP 99458 - For an additional 20 minutes of remote physiologic monitoring by clinical staff/MD/QHCP Initial Set-Up & Patient Education - CPT 99453 It is reported for each episode of care. An episode of care is defined as beginning when the remote monitoring physiologic service is initiated and ends with the attainment of t

Initial hospital care is reported for a patient who is being admitted to the hospital as an inpatient. The level of service is decided based on the three major key components of history, examination, and medical decision-making. There are divided into three types. Inpatient Admit or Initial Care - 99221,99222 & 99223 Subsequent Hospital or Follow Up - 99231, 99232 & 99233 Discharges - 99238 & 99239 Guidelines Do not report another E/M service along with the inpatient admission code even though if the patient is seen by the same physician for a different reason on the same day. E.g.,  The physician sees the patient in the ED and after a thorough examination, decides to admit the patient to the hospital. Report only the appropriate level of inpatient admission code and the ED service is considered the part of admission services when the same service is rendered by the same provider. If the admission is on a subsequent date from an ED service, both the services can be reported

Definition and Details of  History Level of  History There are four levels of History found in E/M, Problem Focused History Expanded Problem Focused History Detailed History Comprehensive History   The  problem focused history requires documentation of the chief complaint (CC) and a brief history of present illness (HPI),  The Expanded Problem Focused History requires documentation of the chief complaint (CC) and a brief history of present illness (HPI) and Problem Pertinent review of system The Detailed history requires the documentation of a CC, an extended HPI, plus an extended review of systems (ROS), and pertinent past, family, and/or social history (PFSH). The Comprehensive history requires the documentation of a CC, an extended HPI, plus an Complete review of systems (ROS), and Complete past, family, and/or social history (PFSH). Chief Complaint (CC)  A Chief Complaint or reason visit/ reason for appointment is a concise statement that describes the symptom, problem, conditio

Critical care is the direct delivery by a physician(s) or other qualified health care professional of medical care for a critically ill or critically injured patient. A critical illness or injury acutely impairs one or more vital organ systems such that there is a high probability of imminent or life-threatening deterioration in the patient's condition.  Critical care services include the treatment of vital organ failure or prevention of further life-threatening conditions.  Delivering medical care in a moment of crisis and in time of emergency is not the only requirement for providing Critical Care services. Examples of vital organ system failure include, but are not limited to, Central nervous system failure,  Circulatory failure,  Shock,  Renal, hepatic, metabolic, and/or respiratory failure.  Critical care may be provided on multiple days, even if no changes are made in the treatment rendered to the patient, provided that the patient's condition continues to require the le

The CPT Codes 99495 and 99496 are used to report transitional care management services (TCM). These services are covered for a new patient or established patient and the code selection will be considered based on the MDM and the problems require either " Moderate Complexity or High Complexity". The TCM service is eligible who discharged from as mentioned below locations, Inpatient hospital setting (including acute hospital, a rehabilitation hospital, long-term acute care hospital). Partial hospital,  Observation status in a hospital,  Skilled nursing facility Nursing facility to the patient's community setting  H ome,  Domiciliary,  Rest home,  Assisted living.  Guidelines TCM is included in one face-to-face visit within the specified timeframes, in combination with non-face-to-face services that may be performed by the physician or other qualified health care professional. Only one individual may report these services and only once per patient within 30 days of discharge

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 se

The E/M codes are categorized based on the service rendered in the setting and or location.  Examples, Office or other outpatient setting  Emergency department (ED)  Hospital inpatient  Nursing facility (NF) Patient Type  For the billing purpose and the code selection will be depending on the service performed with the same physician either new patients or established patients.  New Patient An individual who did not receive any professional services from the physician and or other qualified healthcare professional or non-physician practitioner (NPP) or another physician of the same specialty and or sub specialty  who belongs to the same group practice within the previous 3 years Established Patient An individual who receives professional services from the physician or other qualified healthcare professional or non-physician practitioner (NPP) or another physician of the same specialty and or sub specialty who belongs to the same group practice within the previous 3 years. Key Component

The following codes are used to report evaluation and management services provided in the office and or outpatient setting. The  office and or outpatient setting codes CPT 99202  to 99215, the time guidelines had been changed effective from Jan 1. 2021.  There are few changes with exiting guidelines, The  Counseling and/or coordination of care with other physicians, other qualified health care professionals has been removed and included following guidelines.  In 2021, The time guidelines explain about that for 99202-99205 and 99212-99215, The total time spends on the encounter for the date, includes both face-to-face and non-face-to-face time spent by the provider. Physician/other qualified health care professional time includes the following activities when performed, Preparing to see the patient (eg, review of tests) Obtaining and/or reviewing the separately obtained history Performing a medically appropriate examination and/or evaluation Counseling and educating the patient/family/c

Risk The probability and/or consequences of an event. The assessment of the level of risk is affected by the nature of the event under consideration. For example, a low probability of death may be high risk, whereas a high chance of a minor, self-limited adverse effect of treatment may be low risk.  Definitions of risk are based upon the usual behavior and thought processes of a physician or other qualified health care professional in the same specialty.  Trained clinicians apply common language usage meanings to terms such as high, medium, low, or minimal risk and do not require quantification for these definitions (though quantification may be provided when evidence-based medicine has established probabilities).  For the purposes of MDM, level of risk is based upon consequences of the problem(s) addressed at the encounter when appropriately treated. Risk also includes MDM related to the need to initiate or forego further testing, treatment, and/or hospitalization.  The risk of patien

Data and Analyzed The process of using the data as part of the MDM. The data element itself may not be subject to analysis (eg, glucose), but it is instead included in the thought processes for diagnosis, evaluation, or treatment.  Tests ordered are presumed to be analyzed when the results are reported . Therefore, when  they are ordered during an encounter, they are counted in that encounter.  Tests that are  ordered outside of an encounter may be counted  in the encounter in which they are analyzed.  In the case of a  recurring order ,  each new result  may be counted in the encounter in which it is analyzed.  For example, an encounter that includes an order for monthly prothrombin times would count for one prothrombin time ordered and reviewed.  Additional future results, if analyzed in a subsequent encounter, may be counted as a single test in that subsequent encounter.  Any service for which the professional component is s eparately reported  by the physician or other qualified he