Physician's Coding Strategist-Get some help for building E/M codes

Use this CodeBuilder form with 1997 guidelines

If seasoned coders find evaluation and management (E/M) codes difficult, students learning the system are probably even more confused. That's why a professor at Alfred (NY) State College of Technology worked with her students to develop the E/M CodeBuilder 1997.

Alfred State College's health information technology and medical assistant programs include coursework in CPT (common procedural terminology), which also includes instruction in the assignment of E/M codes.

The CodeBuilder form is to be used with the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) 1997 E/M Documentation Guidelines when reviewing patient charts to identify the appropri-ate E/M code for a case, says Michelle Green, MPS, RHIA, CMA, CTR, a professor in the department of physical and life sciences. (See E/M CodeBuilder 1997, pp. 149-150.)

Draft may not be implemented until 2002

HCFA's draft version of the 2000 E/M Docu-mentation Guidelines became available in June, but it might not be implemented until 2002. HCFA plans to conduct pilot tests of these guidelines beforehand.

Also prior to their implementation, Green will develop the E/M CodeBuilder 2000, which will incorporate the new documentation guidelines. Information about the availability of this free CodeBuilder tool will be posted onthe Part B-list, and it will also be available as an Microsoft Word e-mail attachment.

If you are looking for case studies using the form, consult the sixth edition of Understanding Health Insurance: A Guide to Claims Processing by JoAnn Rowell and Michelle Green (Delmar Publishers).

[For more information, visit Green's Web site at http://web.alfredstate.edu/greenma or contact her at [email protected]. Phone: (607) 587-3674.]