Time

Question:

Our physician is coding by time; he thinks this is the best for him. Frequently with a new patient he will also do an injection. He documents his total time for the day but does not document the amount of time performing a minor procedure (billable). There is no documentation of the time spent preparing for or performing the minor procedure. May we still report a service based on time?

Answer:

CPT states “Time” may be selected based on the total amount of time spent on the date of encounter, excluding time spent for services that are defined by a separately reportable CPT code. This means that the total time must exclude the amount of time spent related to the minor procedure. If not documented, KZA recommends asking the physician to amend the note if possible (attesting that the time is accurate to the best of their knowledge) or reporting the service based on MDM.