The AAFP sent a letter to insurers stating that appropriate, high-level coding (99214/99215) is here to stay. EMRs are cited as one reason:
The overall aging of the general population coupled with an accompanying increase in chronic health conditions that are treated in the ambulatory care setting rather than in the hospital “result in patients needing more complex care than they did a generation ago,” said Frank.Other factors driving the uptick include:
* implementation of electronic health records that more accurately capture visit data;
* adoption of office systems, such as patient registries, that allow physicians to enhance their preventive and chronic care efforts during office visits;
* implementation of planned care models that help physicians manage increasingly complex chronic diseases in office visits; and
* increased use of alternative methods of physician/patient communication resulting in less frequent but more intense office visits.
