Test your E/M coding skills

If you see a patient in the morning whom you instruct to return in the afternoon for a blood pressure check, what codes should you use for the visits?

Answer: You should charge one evaluation and management (E/M) code for the combined services. Payers typically follow guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that says two separate office E/M codes may be reported on the same date only when the patient presents for two unrelated problems.

Read answers to readers’ Coding & Documentation questions in every issue of FPM.