HCCIntelligence™ Premier Webinar: Mastering E/M Coding & Documentation-Telehealth During COVID-19

Telehealth During COVID-19_HCCI

Pdf Summary

This resource provides guidance for house call programs on using telehealth services following updated reimbursement opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The term “telehealth” refers to exchanging medical information electronically to improve patient health. The document details the regulatory changes by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) offering increased telehealth options, including video visits, telephone evaluation, virtual check-ins, remote patient monitoring, and more.<br /><br />Initially, Medicare only covered telehealth for patients in rural or underserved areas, requiring them to visit approved healthcare facilities. However, the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) prompted legislative changes, facilitating broader access to telehealth, enabling patients to receive services from home, and removing location-based restrictions temporarily. Telehealth services during the PHE are reimbursed at in-person care rates.<br /><br />Eligible practitioners for telehealth services include physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, clinical psychologists, dieticians, physical therapists, and more. Various telehealth options like video visits and telephone services are available, with specific billing codes and requirements. For instance, telehealth video visits use specific home and domiciliary E/M codes, while telephone services have distinct codes based on call length and must be patient-initiated.<br /><br />Additional services covered via telehealth include advance care planning, wellness visits, smoking cessation, and chronic care management. Documentation practices for telehealth visits remain akin to in-person visits, requiring secure, HIPAA-compliant communication methods, although temporary relaxations allow commonly used video chat platforms.<br /><br />Informed consent policies vary by state, with CMS not requiring advanced consent for video E/M visits during the PHE. Providers should document virtual care as diligently as face-to-face services. <br /><br />Further details include guidelines for documenting physical exams via telehealth, privacy considerations, specific modifiers to use for telehealth-related services, and billing codes for virtual check-ins and online management services.<br /><br />This comprehensive resource supports home-based primary care providers with updated telehealth guidelines pertinent to the Medicare payment landscape.

Keywords

telehealth

COVID-19

Medicare

CMS

remote patient monitoring

video visits

telehealth reimbursement

PHE

telehealth billing codes

HIPAA compliance