CPT Coding Updates & CPT® E/M Changes for 2021

Each year changes to the HCPCS coding system occur. This includes changes to both individual HCPCS codes such as what we use for injectable. Additionally, changes to the CPT coding are released with revisions and deletions and deletions. This year there are 329 changes to the 2021 code set including 206 new codes, 54 deletions, and 60 revisions.  The changes take effect on January 1, 2021. This webinar by expert speaker Jill M. Young will be on the code changes to CPT that are non Evaluation and Management. The changes to 99201-99215 will be briefly discussed.

Jill will not only address each of the chapters of CPT for code additions, deletions, and modifications but will also discuss changes to guidelines.

For over 20 years the same guideline requirements have been used to determine the level of service for office and outpatient visits. Providers had concerns that these guidelines required some elements that were not necessary from a clinical perspective, not to mention the time it takes to document each visit. The Patients Over Paperwork Act joined together the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the American Medical Association (AMA) to create new guidelines that allowed providers to spend less time documenting and more time administering quality care to patients. The new guidelines streamline the documentation for history and examination to only what is pertinent to that visit, allowing the level of service to be determined by time or medical decision making. These new choices allow providers to use them on a patient by patient basis for more flexibility in the documentation. Although these choices have been previously used, the requirements have been updated to meet the expectations of these visits in today’s medical practice. Because these guidelines are in the CPT® 2021, unless otherwise noted by the insurance company, these documentation guidelines will apply to all insurance companies.

Webinar Objectives

During this webinar on CPT updates, Jill will go over:

• Specific changes to Prolonged Care Codes with both new codes and deletions
• Changes to breast reconstruction and implant codes
• New codes for vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP)
• Nervous systems codes will see minor changes after last year’s massive revamping
• Lab codes will see new news including some in the assay of therapeutic drug section
• Shoulder debridement will be easier to code with the better delineation between extensive and limited
• New Code for Lung Cancer screening
• Prostate cancer will have a new code for ultrasound treatment
• Colposcopy will have a new mapping code for OB/GYN
• New codes for nasopharyngoscopy
• Updates to the core needle biopsy codes
• Retinal imaging and screening services will see changed to their codes
• Technological advances in the field of continuous cardiac monitoring and detection will see new codes

Because these documentation guidelines will be required on January 1, 2021, all providers and staff that are involved with office and outpatient visits should be aware of the changes. Also, electronic medical records system templates will need to be updated to accommodate the new elements for documentation. This webinar by E/M expert Lynn M. Anderanin will review all the necessary elements for the choices of time and medical decision making for attendees to walk away with the understanding of how to choose the level of service based on the new documentation requirements.

Webinar Agenda

• New and revised CPT® codes for office and outpatient services
• Medicare Physicians Fee Schedule Final Rule 
• What services are included when using the time to determine the visit level
• Changes that have been made to medical decision making and the table of risk
• Forecasting how the new documentation guidelines will affect revenue for visits

Webinar Highlights

• The new role history and examination will play in visits
• The elements that make up the time option for documentation
• How the diagnoses codes play a role in medical decision making
• Improved ways to count diagnostic tests for data
• Additions to the table of risk for higher levels of service
• New vs established patients under these changes
• New concerns from outside auditing by insurance carriers

Who Should Attend?

• Coders
• Billers
• Office Managers
• Practice Managers
• NP’s and PA’s
• Physicians
• Advanced Practice Nurses
• Nurse Practitioners
• Biller
• Coder
• Auditor
• Claims Processor
• Collector 
• Reimbursement Specialist
• Claims Adjuster