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Anesthesia Coding Alert

Reader Questions:

Phone Chat Doesn't Always Mean 99441-99443

Published on Mon May 02, 2011

Question:A new patient came to our office, and the physician did a complete workup, resulting in a level-three new patient E/M visit. Later in the week the doctor returned the patient's phone call to see how he was doing, to discuss questions the patient had, and to recommend a follow-up appointment. He spent 22 minutes on the phone with the patient and wants to bill for this time. Should we report a code for the telephone service? The doctor thinks since there are telephone codes, we should report them. I don't think this is a billable service. Who is correct?Delaware Subscriber Answer: You are correct. CPT® offers three telephone service codes:99441 -- Telephone evaluation and management service provided by a physician to an established patient, parent, or guardian not originating from a related E/M service provided within the previous 7 days nor leading to an E/M service or procedure within the [...]
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