Wiki Can the time be combined in this statement?

[priyarishi18@gmail.com]

Total time spent on day of visit was 50 minutes, and more than 50% of face to face time was spent in counseling and/or coordination of care regarding principles of multidisciplinary care, medication management, and therapeutic options. I spent 10 minutes on chart review, preparation, and documentation.

My colleague suggested that I should combine the total time mentioned in this statement to 60 minutes (i.e., 50 minutes + 10 minutes), but I believe the correct total time should remain 50 minutes.
Can you clarify whether the total time for E/M coding in this scenario should be 50 minutes or 60 minutes?

 

[jkyles]

Hi there, two things:
1. The 50% counseling/coordination of care requirement no longer exists.
2. The statement says the provider's total time is 50 minutes. My reading of that statement is that time includes 10 minutes of chart review etc. But the statement could be clearer (or left off).

Also, 50 minutes plus 10 minutes would be 60 minutes

 

[priyarishi18@gmail.com]

Hi there, two things:
1. The 50% counseling/coordination of care requirement no longer exists.
2. The statement says the provider's total time is 50 minutes. My reading of that statement is that time includes 10 minutes of chart review etc. But the statement could be clearer (or left off).

Also, 50 minutes plus 10 minutes would be 60 minutes

Thank You! Dint notice the addition error

 

[Cheezum51]

If the chart review and preparation was done on the same date as the patient visit, the 10 minutes gets added to the 50 for total time of 60 minutes. The regulations do not require that you itemize the amount of time spent on any specific portion of the exam, just give the total time.