Wiki Questions Regarding 2013 CPT Code Changes

[SHobbs]

90792- The medical services defined are provided by the psychologist/psychiatrist not a medical provider in the same practice?

Add on codes 90833, 90836, 90838 to E/M- again these are E/M services provided the same day as the psychotherapy services by the psychologist/psychiatrist and not a medical provider in the same group?

What defines an E/M provided by psychologist/psychiatrist? Is this not the same service provided in a diagnostic evaluations and psychotherapy with ongoing assessments?


Any clarification would be much appreciated thanks!

 

[annemarie2650]

Psychotherapy and Psychiatric Services

Does anyone know if a family practice MD can bill any of the 2013 psychiateric or psychotherapy codes? I thought I heard they could in an AAPC meeting I attended recently

 

[jcochran]

90792- The medical services defined are provided by the psychologist/psychiatrist not a medical provider in the same practice?

Add on codes 90833, 90836, 90838 to E/M- again these are E/M services provided the same day as the psychotherapy services by the psychologist/psychiatrist and not a medical provider in the same group?

What defines an E/M provided by psychologist/psychiatrist? Is this not the same service provided in a diagnostic evaluations and psychotherapy with ongoing assessments?


Any clarification would be much appreciated thanks!

E/M codes may not be billed by a psychologist; these are evaluation and management codes only, as it is evaluation and management, not therapy. These codes are for MD, PA, NP, CNS etc.

For the psychologist, the new intake code is 90791.

For the add-on codes, it would be the same provider performing both services. If you have a client who sees a psychologist and then sees a psychiatrist, or vice versa, it would be 2 separate charges. Keep in mind that if this is the case, the psychiatrist would not be able to bill for an add-on code for therapy, as only 1 therapy is allowed per day. In this case, the psychiatrist would bill for the E/M portion only using the appropriate E/M code.