The American Medical Association (AMA) says the 2023 CPT code updates emphasize its efforts to reduce administrative tasks.
The AMA released the calendar year 2023 CPT code set, which builds on the AMA’s efforts to reduce administrative tasks in medicine, according to a recent press release.
The CPT code update contains 393 changes, including 225 new codes, 75 deletions, and 93 revisions.
Modifications to evaluation and management (E/M) codes make up the majority of the changes, but the update also includes new codes for virtual reality therapy, procedural dissociation services, and abdominal hernia repair procedures. These codes become effective on January 1, 2023.
In its press release article debuting the new code set, the AMA explains the code updates build on its efforts to reduce administrative tasks in medicine—a driver of burnout and a central pillar of its Recovery Plan for America’s Physicians.
Based on the 2021 revisions made to the E/M office visit CPT codes, the AMA says the new modifications make coding and documentation easier and more flexible, freeing physicians and other staff from time-wasting administrative tasks that are irrelevant to providing high-quality care to patients.
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As background, those 2021 updates, which were approved by both the AMA and CMS, made it so E/M codes no longer factor history and exam elements into code level selection. Instead, code selection is now solely based on either medical decision-making or time.
The new modifications to the E/M codes for 2023 extend to inpatient and observation care services, consultations, emergency department services, nursing facility services, home and residence services, and prolonged services, the AMA said.
“The process for coding and documenting almost all E/M services is now simpler and more flexible,” AMA President said in the press release.
AMA wants to ensure that physicians and other users get the full benefit of the administrative relief from the E/M code revisions. The AMA is helping physicians and healthcare organizations prepare now for the E/M coding changes and offers authoritative resources to anticipate the operational, infrastructural, and administrative workflow adjustments that will result from the pending transition.
The coding department is one of the most critical parts of the revenue cycle. Because coding occurs mid-cycle, it provides an opportunity to catch errors introduced earlier in the process, as well as preventing similar errors in the future.
Staying abreast of these regulatory coding updates is important for revenue cycle leaders as coding—and its completeness and accuracy—has a profound impact on an organization’s bottom line
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