August 29, 2025
Recorded April 17, 2025
Coding for prolonged services requires practitioner education, careful documentation and coder oversight. These codes are the opposite of “set and forget.” CPT and CMS use different codes and have different time thresholds. For some services, CMS allows time spent on services done on a different date!
Prolonged services codes function as add-on codes to the highest-level Evaluation and Management (E/M) services in certain categories. To use prolonged care, providers must select the primary code based on time, which is explicitly stated in both the CPT® and HCPCS definitions of prolonged services. For billing purposes, the full 15 minutes of prolonged services […]
Common rules: Prolonged services codes are add-on codes to the highest level E/M services in certain categories. In order to use prolonged care, the primary code must be selected based on time. This is in the CPT® and HCPCS definition of prolonged services. Prolonged services codes may only be added to the highest-level code in […]
There are two time-based CPT codes for non-face-to-face prolonged care services. These codes may not be used on the day of an Evaluation and Management (E/M) service, such as an office visit or hospital service. Physicians and other qualified health care professionals who have E/M in their scope of practice may use these codes. CMS […]
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