problem visit along with prevent med

[smros]

Hi everyone:

We are of the thinking that a "problem visit" (99201-99215) should not be billed out along with a prevent med code (99381-99397) unless it is a new, acute problem that requires significant, additional work.

However, I have a family practice physician that spends a lot of time (1+ hours) on things like obesity, asthma, depression, etc.

Is there any way to capture this time spent? Would it be appropriate to charge a 9921x (depending upon time documentation) for these chronic/risk prevention concerns?

Thanks for any input

[MEDASSURE]

Look to counseling codes 99354- which is counseling based on time in addition to the E/M. I believe 99354 is counseling up to one hour. I'm sorry I don't have my CPT book in front of me for specifics on time but we do use this for our E/M visits that contain a lot of counseling time. Hope this helps!