Home Forums Discussions Coding and Billing Coding 99214

I know that there is different levels of complexity required to bill a 99214, but do you also have to be with the patient at least 25min?

Thanks!

Ben

No, unless you are coding for a "counselling visit" (which requires no exam, etc).

No - the complexity of the visit, severity of conditions, systems reviewed, tests ordered, medications prescribed at time of visit, etc can easily override the time factor.

Thank you so much!

I find it usu does not take 25 minutes to get a level 4, and the times are usually longer than it would normally take to his a particular level. (You can do a level 3 in 5 minutes.) However, I frequently have Medicare patients who want to talk at length about problems, and we end up using the time as a coding reference. I often record the start time, and then just relax and not worry about how long they want to talk. (I have 30 min standard appts.)

Don't forget to document that "greater than 50% of the time was spent in counseling and care planning" if you want to bill for time. I have a template that says something to that effect.