April 1, 2022
The American Medical Association (AMA) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have created new modifiers to be appended to audio-only telehealth services for dates of service on and after January 1, 2022.
The new modifiers include:
- 93 – Synchronous telemedicine service rendered via telephone or other real time interactive audio-only telecommunications system
- FQ – Service furnished using audio-only communication technology
When a non-face to face encounter with a patient is via telephone telecommunication service, one of these modifiers must be appended to the appropriate telephone assessment and management procedure code:
- Codes 99441,
99442, 99443: for physicians and other qualified healthcare professionals that can bill evaluation and management services (EMS) under their own name and NPI number
- Codes 98966,
98967, 98968: for all other qualified non-physician healthcare professionals
As noted in Provider News, a new place of service code was created by CMS effective January 1, 2022, to distinguish where the patient is physically located during a telecommunications
encounter. The current place of service (POS) code’s description was also revised to identify where the patient is located during the telehealth encounter.
The current POS codes to use include:
- POS 02 – Telehealth provided other
than in patient home
The location where health services are provided or received through telecommunications. The patient is physically not located in their home when receiving these related health services via telecommunication technology.
- POS 10 – Telehealth provided in patient home (effective January 1, 2022)
The location where health services are provided or received through telecommunications. The patient is physically in their home (a location other than a
hospital or facility where the patient receives care in a private residence) when receiving these related health services via telecommunications technology.
For further details on the revisions made to the telehealth/telemedicine payment policy, sign in to review the policy.