New and Established CPT code list

PATIENT TYPE

For purposes of billing for E/M services, patients are identified as either new or established, depending on previous encounters with the provider.

A new patient is defined as an individual who has not received any professional services from the physician/non-physician practitioner (NPP) or another physician of the same specialty who belongs to the same group practice within the previous 3 years.


An established patient is an individual who has received professional services from the physician/NPP or another physician of the same specialty who belongs to the same group practice within the previous 3 years.

New and Established Patient Services


A new patient is one who has not received any professional services from a physician or from another physician of the same specialty who belongs to the same group practice, within the past three years. Providers must use procedure codes 99201, 99202, 99203, 99204, and 99205 when billing for new patient services provided in the office or an outpatient or other ambulatory facility. New patient visits are limited to one every three years, per client, per provider.

An established patient is one who has received professional services from a physician or from another physician of the same specialty within the same group practice, within the last three years. Providers must use procedure codes 99211, 99212, 99213, 99214, and 99215 when billing for established patient services provided in the office or an outpatient or other ambulatory facility:

When an office visit is billed with the same date of service as a THSteps medical checkup or exception to periodicity visit, the office visit must be billed as an established patient visit. If a new patient visit is billed with the same date of service as a THSteps medical checkup or exception to periodicity visit, then the new patient visit will be denied.

Modifier 25 may be used to identify a significant, separately identifiable E/M service performed by the same physician on the same day as another procedure or service. Documentation that supports the provision of a significant, separately identifiable E/M service must be maintained in the client's medical record. The documentation must clearly indicate what the significant problem/abnormality was, including the important, distinct correlation with signs and symptoms to demonstrate a distinctly different problem that required additional work and must support that the requirements for the level of service billed were met or exceeded.

The date and time of both services performed must be outlined in the medical record and the time of the second service must be different than the time of the first service, although a different diagnosis is not required.

An established patient visit that is billed with the same date of service as a new patient visit by the same provider will be denied as part of another procedure except when the established patient visit is billed with a new THSteps medical checkup.

Office visits (procedure codes 99201, 99202, 99203, 99204, 99205, 99211, 99212, 99213, 99214, and 99215) provided on the same date of service as a planned procedure (minor or extensive) are included in the cost of the procedure and are not separately reimbursed.

Office visit procedure code 99211, 99212, 99213, 99214, or 99215 must be billed by the same provider with the same date of service as a group clinical visit.

Procedures that are included in the E/M service (e.g., binocular microscopy, noninvasive ear or pulse oximetry for oxygen saturation, etc.) are denied as part of another procedure when billed by the same provider with the same date of service as one of the following office or outpatient consultation visit procedure codes:

Procedure Codes

99201

99202

99203

99204

99205

99211

99212

99213

99214

99215

99241

99242

99243

99244

99245

Emergency department-based physicians or emergency department-based groups may not bill charges for inconvenience or after hours services (procedure code 99050, 99056, or 99060).