The American Medical Association (AMA) added a Telemedicine Services category to CPT’s Evaluation and Management (E/M) section. Below is a summary of these codes.
Telephone-only E/M codes 99441, 99442, and 99443 have been deleted. They have been replaced with codes 98008 to 98015 for synchronous audio-only E/M visits with more than 10 minutes of medical discussion. CPT codes 98008-98011 apply to new patients, and 98012-98015 apply to established patients. These new codes must have documented more than 10 minutes of medical discussion.
| CPT | Technology | Patient Type | MDM | Time Minimum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 98008 | Audio-Only | New | Straightforward plus > 10 minutes medical discussion | 15 minutes |
| 98009 | Audio-Only | New | Low plus > 10 minutes medical discussion | 30 minutes |
| 98010 | Audio-Only | New | Moderate plus > 10 minutes medical discussion | 45 minutes |
| 98011 | Audio-Only | New | High plus > 10 minutes medical discussion | 60 minutes |
| 98012 | Audio-Only | Established | Straightforward plus > 10 minutes medical discussion | 10 minutes |
| 98013 | Audio-Only | Established | Low plus > 10 minutes medical discussion | 20 minutes |
| 98014 | Audio-Only | Established | Moderate plus > 10 minutes medical discussion | 30 minutes |
| 98015 | Audio-Only | Established | High plus > 10 minutes medical discussion | 40 minutes |
New Audio-video E/M codes have been created in addition to the audio-only E/M codes.
| CPT | Technology | Patient Type | MDM | Time Minimum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 98000 | Audio-video | New | Straightforward | 15 minutes |
| 98001 | Audio-video | New | Low | 30 minutes |
| 98002 | Audio-video | New | Moderate | 45 minutes |
| 98003 | Audio-video | New | High | 60 minutes |
| 98004 | Audio-video | Established | Straightforward | 10 minutes |
| 98005 | Audio-video | Established | Low | 20 minutes |
| 98006 | Audio-video | Established | Moderate | 30 minutes |
| 98007 | Audio-video | Established | High | 40 minutes |
CMS determined that these codes would not be covered based on the current language in the Social Security Act.
Providers will need to verify with each payer to determine which payers require office visit codes (99202-99215) and which require the new telemedicine codes.
