What is medical complexity 99204?
Asked by: Eric Satterfield | Last update: July 15, 2025Score: 4.1/5 (21 votes)
What is the complexity of CPT code 99204?
CPT code 99204 is designated for new patient office or outpatient visits that require a moderate complexity in medical decision-making or 45-59 minutes of patient encounter time.
What qualifies for a 99204?
CPT code 99204 is a medical code used to indicate a level four office visit. This code is used when a patient has a complex medical history and requires an extensive physical examination. Code 99204 is also used when patients require counseling and care coordination with other physicians and health care professionals.
What is medical complexity?
Medical complexity is defined as having multiple chronic physical conditions with co-occurring behavioral or mental health challenges, many medications, multiple providers, frequent hospitalizations, or limited abilities. 1.
What is an example of a 99204 visit?
If you are still not feeling confident in knowing what CPT code 99204 means, consider the following patient description example. A new adult patient visiting an office, or outpatient facility, for an acute illness or injury that requires medical management. The patient may even be eligible for surgical treatment.
What is a level 4 office / outpatient visit in medical coding? 99214 & 99204 explained.
What is considered high complexity medical decision making?
High complexity medical decision making: Codes 99205 and 99215 include one or more chronic illnesses with a severe exacerbation, progression, or side effects of treatment, or one acute or chronic illness or injury that poses a threat to life or bodily function.
What makes a patient medically complex?
Dr. Bavykina: Complex patients don't only have a combination of different medical conditions. They also have psychosocial factors, like financial challenges or a lack of social support that make them unique and that make their health care difficult to manage.
What is the medical complexity score?
The patient clinical complexity level (PCCL) is calculated for each treatment episode to indicate the effect of complications and comorbidities in a patient. The PCCL ranges from 0 (no complication or comorbidity) to 4 (very severe complication or comorbidity), according to a complex algorithm.
What is an example of a complex medical condition?
Conditions that require major commitments of time and effort from care-givers for a substantial period of time: (1) mobility disorders, (2) blindness, (3) Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, (4) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, (5) paraplegia or quadriplegia, (6) Down's syndrome, and (7) depression.
How long is a 99204 office visit?
CPT® code 99204: New patient office visit, 45-59 minutes | American Medical Association.
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.
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 are the qualifications for a 99204?
99204 CPT Code: Definition and Basic Requirements
It requires a detailed history, physical exam, and moderate medical decision-making. This code is key for documenting patient care, offering flexibility in time and care quality. This code covers visits lasting 45-59 minutes.
What is diagnosis codes 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.
What is medical complexity examples?
- 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.
How do you determine medical complexity?
The complexity of medical decision-making is based on 3 categories: diagnoses or management options, amount and complexity of data, and level of risk. To meet a certain level of complexity, at least 2 of the 3 categories must be met.
What is the most common measure of hospital complexity?
Main outcomes and measures: Measures of complexity included patient characteristics at the time of admission (eg, advanced age, multimorbidity, polypharmacy, recent hospitalization), features of the index hospitalization (eg, admission via the emergency department, multiple acute medical problems, use of intensive care ...
What does medically complex mean?
“Medically complex” is a term used when a child has a medical condition (in some cases multiple medical conditions) that require ongoing specialized care. The medical condition can vary from rare illnesses, to premature birth, and even incidents involving some sort of physical trauma.
What is a complex visit?
Complex visits are defined as those with over two diagnoses (the mean of diagnoses made per visit) and/or those with over three prescription medications (the mean of medications prescribed per visit).
What does medical decision making of high complexity mean?
▪ High complexity. Medical decision making is defined by the complexity of a physician's work that is necessary to establish a diagnosis and/or to select a healthcare management option.
What is considered complex medical condition?
Complex medical conditions usually involve multiple body systems and are often chronic in nature. This means they persist over a long time, usually for a person's lifetime. Diseases like diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and autoimmune disorders fall under this category.
What is the difference between 99214 and 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. A 99214 requires a review of only two.
What are the 4 levels of medical decision making?
The table includes the four levels of MDM (ie, straightforward, low, moderate, high) and the three elements of MDM (ie, number and complexity of problems addressed at the encounter, amount and/or complexity of data reviewed and analyzed, and risk of complications and/or morbidity or mortality of patient management).