Can you bill two E/M visits same day same visit?

The office coder recently attended a coding seminar and was told that two E/M visits can be billed during the same session (Ex: 99214 & 99212 w/modifier 25 appended). A typical scenario would be: patient was scheduled for their typical 3 month appointment for reveiw of medications, follow-up on established issues and then brings up a new issue of back pain. 99214 would be billed for the established issues and 99212 for the new condition.

Is the seminar information correct?

E/m

No, not true. You do not bill on conditions, you assign E/M per face-face encounter. If billing 2 E/M visits you would need 2 separate (Time of day) for a different condition then the earlier one.

Two E/M's same day

As the car talk guys say, "BOGUS!" Two or more conditions addressed at a single visit are billed with one E/M service. A second visit in the same day for an UNRELATED condition may be billed.

perhaps the person got half the advice correct

if the visit was a for a routine physical and a problem. There you can bill the Preventive service (99391-7) and the E&M (99212-5) with a -25.

Two E&M same day

Ok, so how about the situation where the pt came in for her reg, follow up hypertension appt at 1:30, then at 5:30pm was rushed in for heat exhaustion, full work up with EKG...?? I advised my doctor that all she could do was add the EKG and upcode the original visit, but am I hearing something different from you guys...??
Sara

nope

both are E&M visits so you bundle them together. If the time spent face to face was significant, you can use prolonged services codes.