If a new patient came in for an annual exam and also had other problems not related to the annual that was diagnosed and treated by the physician would we charge a new patient E/M or and established e/m. I thought it should be the new patient since the patient has never been seen before. It was the same day as the annual. First time visit.
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Wiki new patient
- Thread starter kimb
- Start date
dmaec
True Blue
if you're charging a new patient preventive service - AND an E/M - the E/M should be an "established" patient code - and they were seen "before" - remember - at that preventive visit 
that counts as "seen before". Hopefully the documentation stands alone for both services being charged out.
that counts as "seen before". Hopefully the documentation stands alone for both services being charged out.Lisa Bledsoe
True Blue
I would code the preventive as "new" and problem-oriented as "established"... I say this because the patient initiated the visit for the preventive, right? And, it's easier to get an appropriate level for the problem-oriented visit at this point since you only need to meet 2 of 3 key components. Mod -25 on the E/M (problem-oriented visit)...