Mary Wood, CPC, CPC-I, CRC and I are looking forward to the October AAPC Regional Conference in Seattle. It is an exciting time to be a coder/auditor/practice manager as CMS is making sweeping policy changes. We will be giving a presentation on new E/M changes with a focus on how you can accommodate these changes in a clinical setting. We want you to lead your organization based on your AAPC skill set.

Mary Wood and Michael Warner | Region 8 – West

Starting 2021, History and Examination will no longer be key components for outpatient E/M scoring. Scoring of outpatient/office E/M services will be based on Medical Decision Making or Time. Time will no longer be mandated as “greater than 50% counseling or coordinating care” but will include total time attending to the patient’s needs on the date of service by the provider. If a provider, for example, spends 5 minutes on the phone in the morning with a radiologist to discuss a patient’s MRI and then sees the patient face-to-face later in the day, then those 5 minutes will be added to the face-to-face time.

In regard to Medical Decision Making (MDM), a new 1-page grid has been assembled by a CPT RUC Workgroup. It looks very similar to putting current MDM Tables A, B and C together. Starting 2021, CMS wants providers to document MDM and tell us what they are thinking. “What is your thinking process as you determine a diagnosis and treatment plan?”

On the surface, it looks like the documentation world is being turned upside down with no more history or examination documentation requirements! Looking deeper, Mary and I believe documentation will improve and patient outcomes will improve. We will show you how at the Seattle conference, upcoming HBM articles and future discussions in AAPC.com forum chat rooms. We believe AAPC skills will empower you to be a leader to best accommodate new CMS changes and at the same time, make the healthcare experience better for patients and providers.

Sincerely,

Mike and Mary