Ob-Gyn Coding Alert

First of all, in the February 2021 meeting, the CPT^® Editorial Panel approved other major revisions to the other sections of E/M services not addressed in this year’s changes. For instance, you should be on the lookout for modifications to inpatient, observation, consultation, emergency department, nursing facility, rest home, and prolonged service guidelines. But before you panic, these revisions will occur in 2023, so you should have plenty of forewarning.

Secondly, the CPT^® Editorial Panel approved technical corrections to the new E/M 2021 guidelines to help “provide relief” to the most confusing areas.

For medical decision making (MDM), you will find the following clarifications, including what to do when reporting a test that a provider considers but not selected after shared decision making. You’ll have more definitive definitions of:

• “analyzed” for reporting tests in the data column,
• “unique” tests,
• “discussion” between physicians and other qualified health care professionals and patients, and
• major vs. minor surgery.

You’ll also find out which activities you shouldn’t count when you’re reporting time as a key criterion for selecting a code level.

Find out more: You can find the full set of modifications to the CPT® code set here: https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/cpt/errata-technical-corrections