What is an example of a 99204 visit?

Asked by: Danielle Fahey  |  Last update: August 25, 2025
Score: 4.6/5 (14 votes)

New patient visits are covered by codes 99201-99205, with the specific code depending on the complexity of the visit. What is an example of a 99204 patient? A new patient presenting with multiple symptoms that require a detailed history, a comprehensive examination, and moderate complexity in medical decision-making.

What is an example of a 99204 patient?

Typical patient description

Office visit for a new patient with a progressing illness or acute injury that requires medical management or potential surgical treatment.

What type of exam is required for a 99204?

For a 99204, all three major criteria (history, physical exam and medical decision making) must be met. A 99214 requires only two of the three major criteria. For a 99204, the review of systems must include at least 10 systems or body areas.

What is medical complexity 99204?

Moderate complexity medical decision making: Codes 99204 and 99214 include two or more stable chronic illnesses, one or more chronic illnesses with exacerbation, progression, or side effects of treatment, one undiagnosed new problem with uncertain prognosis, one acute illness with systemic symptoms, or one acute ...

What is medical complexity examples?

Examples of complex medical conditions include the following:
  • Cancer. Cancer involves abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. ...
  • Diabetes. ...
  • Autoimmune Disorders. ...
  • Mental Health Disorders. ...
  • HIV/AIDS. ...
  • Alzheimer's Disease.

What is a level 4 office / outpatient visit in medical coding? 99214 & 99204 explained.

27 related questions found

When to use 99024?

99024 - Postoperative follow-up visit, normally included in the surgical package, to indicate that an evaluation and management service was performed during a postoperative period for a reason(s) related to the original procedure. Applies to surgeries with 90 and 10 day global periods.

What qualifies for 99204?

99204 Description: Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of a new patient which requires a medically appropriate history and/or examination and moderate medical decision making.

Can a chiropractor bill 99204?

Chiropractic Manipulation with Visit

A level 4 or 5 E/M (99204, 99205, 99214, 99215) will be denied as provider liability because these levels would require significant additional work, and it is seldom appropriate to bill both.

Can a physician assistant bill 99204?

If you are talking a level 4 new patient visit 99204, then it can only be billed if the patient has not been seen in your practice by any of your physicians in the last 3 years and meets level 4 criteria.

What is the difference between 92004 and 99204?

With the proper chart documentation in place, the encounter can most often be coded as 99204 (E/M code) rather than 92004 (eye code). The national average differential between the two is $16.13, favoring the E/M code (Table 2). Over time, this difference can add up for any size practice.

What is a level 3 office visit?

Level-III visits are considered to have a low level of risk. Patient encounters that involve two or more self-limited problems, one stable chronic illness or an acute uncomplicated illness would qualify.

What is an example of a 99212 visit?

For instance, examples of a 99212 visit include “Office visit, established patient, 6–year-old with sore throat and headache,” and “Office visit, sore throat, fever and fatigue in a 19–year-old college student, established patient.” As you noted, you could technically document enough history and physical to code for ...

What two factors may be considered in assigning an outpatient visit code?

Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of an established patient, which requires at least 2 of these 3 key components: A problem focused history; A problem focused examination; Straightforward medical decision making.

What is the difference between code 99204 and 99205?

Code 99204 requires a minimum of 45 minutes of face-to-face time with the patient and Code 99205 requires a minimum of 60 minutes face-to-face time with the patient. For both services, at least 50% of the face-to-face time must be spent providing counseling and/or coordination of care.

What codes can a chiropractor bill?

What CPT codes do chiropractors use? A. While there are three primary categories of CPT codes, most chiropractors use only Category 1 codes. The most common CPT codes used by chiropractors are CPT Code 98940, CPT Code 98941, CPT Code 98942, and CPT Code 98943.

What are CPT codes for physical therapy?

A Beginner's Guide to CPT Codes for Physical Therapy
  • What are CPT codes? ...
  • Commonly Used CPT Codes in Physical Therapy. ...
  • 97110: Therapeutic exercise. ...
  • 97112: Neuromuscular Re-education. ...
  • 97116: Gait training. ...
  • 97124: Massage Therapy. ...
  • 97140: Manual therapy. ...
  • 97150: Group Therapy.

What is code 99213 used for?

CPT code 99213 is an evaluation and management (E/M) code for office or other outpatient visits, typically used for established patients who require a low level of medical decision-making (MDM) and management. If choosing the code based on time, the encounter involves 20 or more minutes of total time on the visit date.

What is the CPT code for new patient annual exam?

The Annual Routine Physical Exam can be documented using codes 99385-99387 for new patients and codes 99395-99397 for established patients. When an Annual Wellness Visit and Annual Routine Physical Exam occur at the same date of service, no modifier is necessary.

What is the 57 modifier used for?

CPT modifier 57 may be used to report the decision for surgery for certain codes. This modifier may be used to indicate that an evaluation and management (E/M) service performed on the same day or the day before a major surgery (090 global days) by the surgeon resulted in the decision to perform the procedure.

Is there a fee for CPT 99024?

CPT® 99024 is a Medicare bundled code with zero relative value units (RVUs) and no fee on the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS), so you may wonder why CMS is interested in collecting this data. In fact, a Medicare bundled code is reimbursed by Medicare, but not at the time the service is performed.

What is CPT code 99204?

CPT code 99204 refers to the evaluation and management (E/M) of a new patient during an outpatient/office visit. It requires moderate medical decision-making and involves a comprehensive history and/or physical examination of the patient.