2021 E/M OFFICE VISIT DOCUMENTATION AND CODING CHANGES

January 1, 2021

Effective January 1, 2021, changes are coming to CPT codes related to Evaluation and Management (E/M) services.  These landmark changes, adopted by the American Medical Association and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, will impact nearly every medical specialty and are designed to:

  • reduce administrative burden with simplified code selection
  • decrease unnecessary documentation in patient medical records not pertinent to patient’s care
  • provide greater clarity in definitions to ensure more accurate coding, potentially reducing audit risk

Specifically, the revisions apply to CPT codes 99201-99215, the codes used to report E/M services in the office or in an outpatient or ambulatory setting.

To help your practice prepare and understand how these changes may affect your practice, you’re invited to view our on-demand webinar.

Additional training resources, including a full list of definitions for the elements of medical decision making for office or other outpatient services can be found at ama-assn.org.