Optometry Coding & Billing Alert

Reader Questions:

Document Complaint for Glaucoma Follow-Up

Question: How should I code an office visit for a wheelchair-bound nursing home patient who comes in for a follow-up for glaucoma?

Texas Subscriber

Answer: Optometrists often have to follow up with glaucoma patients because of medications or postsurgical concerns. Many practices differ in their coding method for follow-up visits, using either E/M or eye codes. Both sets are acceptable. The eye codes (92002-92014) require less documentation, but to bill them you must perform the required exam elements -- and you must consider those elements medically necessary for the presenting problem.

When documenting follow-up glaucoma visits, be sure to document a chief complaint even if it is simply "follow-up glaucoma." Even though the patient is from a nursing home, the place of service is always where she is seen -- in this case, your office.

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