Hi Kimberly,
You mentioned "if the patient is NEW or if this is a NEW issue, an E/M with modifier 25 is often warranted..."
What about a NEW patient with a straightforward issue such as wart (cryo), impacted cerumen removal, skin tag removal, incision & drainage it would not be permissible to report an E&M service as the clinician is paid for the initial evaluation of the site which then lead to the decision to perform the minor procedure (destruction, removal, I&D), it would only be permissible to report the procedure?
NCCI states
"In general, E&M services performed on the same date of service as a minor surgical procedure are included in the payment for the procedure. The decision to perform a minor surgical procedure is included in the global surgical package for the minor surgical procedure, and shall not be reported separately as an E&M service.....
"The fact that the patient is “new” to the provider is not sufficient alone to justify reporting an E&M service on the same date of service as a minor surgical procedure."
TIA