Otolaryngology Coding Alert

Question: If a visit starts as an audio-only telehealth visit and the patient then comes to the office for an exam, does the service still remain as telehealth, or does it change it to an office visit and we just remove the telehealth modifier?

Colorado Subscriber

Answer: For 99441-99443 (Telephone evaluation and management service by a physician or other qualified health care professional …) or G2012 (Brief communication technology-based service, e.g. virtual check-in, by a physician or other qualified health care professional …), you must make sure services have not originated “from a related E/M [evaluation and management] service provided within the previous seven days nor leads to an E/M service or procedure within the next 24 hours or soonest available appointment,” per the code descriptors. Similarly, 99421-99423 (Online digital evaluation and management service, for an established patient …) must not originate from a related E/M service either seven days before or after the contact.

So, the work involved in the audio-only telehealth visit is incorporated into the separately reported 99201-99215 (Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of a new/established patient …) office E/M if the telehealth visit results in an office E/M service during the before-and-after time frames associated with the codes. You wouldn’t need the telehealth modifier, and you would only document the resulting E/M service.

Note: Keep in mind that if the telehealth visit is performed via an audiovisual method, these rules don’t apply. The physician may bill separately for the telehealth visit within one or more days prior to the office visit.