For patient portal visits, (CPT Codes 99421-99423), if a patient uses the portal to request a prescription refill and the provider reviews the patient’s record before approving the refill and documents that review in the record, is it appropriate to bill these codes for a prescription request, review and refill only?
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Wiki Patient Portal Visits 99421-99423
- Thread starter sparayno@mycpm.net
- Start date
SharonCollachi
Guest
Well, you're doing yourself a disservice if you allow your patients to make refill requests. Now, hear me out. I instituted this policy at every office I've ever worked at, and for every physician I've ever consulted for.
You write a prescription with enough refills to get to their next appointment, and they MUST have a next appointment. That's it. No one needs to review prescription refills requests, ever. Cuts down on staff time like crazy, whether that is paper chart or EMR. Cuts down on faxes from pharmacies, calls from patients, etc.
Now, say you go ahead and review patient info. The codes 99421-99423 are for E&M services that would be performed in an office except that they are electronic (Medicare: "These codes are for use when E/M services are performed, of a type that would be done face-to-face, through a HIPAA compliant secure platform."). I would say what you are describing does NOT meet the definition of those codes. How long does it take the provider to do this? Five minutes? Doesn't meet the minimum criteria for other non f-t-f services either (99358 is minimum 30 minutes).
So do yourself a favor, and institute my policy. I take payment in cupcakes. Thanks.
You write a prescription with enough refills to get to their next appointment, and they MUST have a next appointment. That's it. No one needs to review prescription refills requests, ever. Cuts down on staff time like crazy, whether that is paper chart or EMR. Cuts down on faxes from pharmacies, calls from patients, etc.
Now, say you go ahead and review patient info. The codes 99421-99423 are for E&M services that would be performed in an office except that they are electronic (Medicare: "These codes are for use when E/M services are performed, of a type that would be done face-to-face, through a HIPAA compliant secure platform."). I would say what you are describing does NOT meet the definition of those codes. How long does it take the provider to do this? Five minutes? Doesn't meet the minimum criteria for other non f-t-f services either (99358 is minimum 30 minutes).
So do yourself a favor, and institute my policy. I take payment in cupcakes. Thanks.