Finally, some good news!
Evaluation and Management changes for 2021 include something many of our clients have struggled with for a long time. Time!
Starting January 1, 2021, providers may now use the amount of time spent with a patient as a guide to selecting the appropriate E/M code.
The inclusion of time in the definitions of levels of E/M services has been implicit in prior editions of the CPT codebook. The inclusion of time as an explicit factor beginning in CPT 1992 is done to assist in selecting the most appropriate level of E/M services. Beginning with CPT 2021 and except for 99211, time alone may be used to select the appropriate code level for the office or other outpatient E/M services codes (99202, 99203, 99204, 99205, 99212, 99213, 99214, 99215).
See AMA’s PDF regarding the updates.
We’ll be posting more information soon. Keep an eye out for updates!