Am I correct in understanding that if a CPT/HCPCS code has a time-frame in the description, for example G0444 depression screening 5-15 minutes, the actual time spent must be documented, correct? It has always been my understanding that time must be documented if you are coding anything based on time.
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Wiki Time based codes
- Thread starter myoumans
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kmatt35
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Did you ever get a response on this? I am having the same question from providers.
jkyles
True Blue
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Hi there, for codes that state a time range or "at least X minutes" and so on, I haven't been able to find any official guidance that states the provider must document the exact time. My belief is that if an auditor sees "5-15 minutes spent" in every chart, they'll absolutely dig around for more problems or nitpick. But that's just a belief. Depending on the code or code set it might also mean that they miss out on legitimate revenue opportunities. For example, if there's an add-on code or a higher level service they could report for additional time.
Agreed. If I’m auditing and I see a range of time spent documented the same way on multiple notes then I’m going to ask for more info. There may not be a hard guideline but you should be prepared to prove how you are spending the minimum amount of time in the range specified in the code description.
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