Good and informative updates on Office Visits...99214 and others...and information relative to anesthesia services...BD
But if you didn't spend more than half the visit on counseling, and the encounter exceeded the typical time for a particular level of service by at least 30 minutes, it would be appropriate to use the prolonged care codes (99354 or 99355). These codes are add-on codes, so they're reported in addition to the E&M code.
Coding Cues: Answers to your questions about... - Medical Economics
I have been toying with using the extended time codes with some of our patients. I believe these are poorly designed. What is to stop a physician from dumbing down his/her notes to generate a lower office visit (ie make a note for a 99213 rather than a 99215) and just adding a 99354 (as 99213 + 99354 will bring in more money than a 99215 alone)? Your thoughts?
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