Physicians and practice managers are always on the lookout for ways to increase revenue. One of the ways practices miss out on revenue is by not always billing for services that have been provided. Coding mistakes are common, be it from a lack of understanding of when certain codes should be used, or due to not knowing about certain codes entirely.

Here are 3 codes that are often misunderstood or unknown to billing and coding staff, leading to significant losses in potential revenue. Knowing about the codes, and how and when to use to them, can earn practices a decent amount of additional income.

1. 99441-99443: Telephone Services

Due to how busy doctors’ offices are these days, it isn’t rare for patients to skip the line by calling and asking to speak to the doctor. The CPT codes include codes specifically for reporting telephone services provided by physicians, or other qualified healthcare providers. Used for reporting E/M services provided over the phone, these codes can only be used for established patients.

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They cannot be used for patients who come in for an in-person visit within 24 hours, and for calls referring to an E/M service provided within the last 7 days. Time is also an important factor, as the codes are different based on the duration of the call.

1. 99441: telephone E/M service; 5-10 minutes of medical discussion
2. 99442: telephone E/M service; 11-20 minutes of medical discussion
3. 99443: telephone E/M service, 21-30 minutes of medical discussion
4. 99058: Services provided on an emergency basis

Patients seen on an emergency basis can be coded 99058. This code can be used when a patient visit demands immediate attention from the physician, disrupting the schedule of the practice. This code can only be used for in office visits.

3. 96160: Health risk assessment

Code 96160 can be used when providers perform a health risk assessment on a patient, with or without a caregiver/guardian. It can be used when assessing risk for a variety of diseases and disorders, such as those pertaining to mental health. For caregiver focused assessments, providers should use code 96161.

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