Have you seen the new free NAMAS E&M Mind Map download? The idea behind the Mind Map is that sometimes it’s easier to process and understand things through visual downloads. We envision this as being something that you, as an auditor or coder, may find value in, but also for educating providers, it’s easy to break down one section at a time. So, let’s take a look at the Mind Map together.
You can see where we start the patient encounter here.
The patient encounter then goes into the pre-service work that the provider may do prior to the examination process of the patient or the in-work room time to help them understand what activities can be counted, especially in those instances of time-based billing but also MDM as well.
Then, we want our provider to make sure their recognizing is this a new patient or an established patient and that they are including that documentation into the encounter for best practices. Established patients, not so important… new patients, absolutely important.
Time vs. MDM: Our provider doesn’t have to make that selection prior to seeing the patient, however, that information does help them to be more aware and more cognizant of the encounter that’s about to occur. So just having them be aware of that prior to seeing the patient.
And then ultimately we go into our best ways to describe our patient, what description represents what level of complexity.
We do have information here on that category two -column two of MDM. Although remember with our providers, this is sometimes a very delicate area to teach our providers review.
Last, we have the risk and please note the word risk is repeated here over and over to remind we’re not just looking at that treatment plan, but we are looking at the risk of managing that patient. So again, this kind of tells the tell of the patient visit, and you can see there’s arrows to make sure that you’re going in the right direction along the way.
The backside of the Mind Map includes a lot of research. There’s a lot of resources, clarity and essentially different tidbits to help along the way. We’ve tried to categorize them to make it easy to find and associate what you need. So those tidbits, questions, and tips are easily identified and good resources for you.
We hope that you do find value in this. Currently, the Mind Map is created specifically with office clinic based services in mind. However, we find that this is a good resource and tool. We’re more than happy to create other locations of service. That’s why we request your feedback. Give us your feedback and let us know what you think of the new Mind Map. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us so that we can help you to better understand the Mind Map.
Your next steps:
- Become a NAMAS Member to earn those CEUs and take advantage of learning resources, products, and resources!
- Read more blog posts to stay updated on the 2023 Revisions to the 2021 E&M Guidelines.
- Watch Shannon discuss this topic on the NAMAS YouTube channel and subscribe to get notified when new auditing and documentation tips drop!
- Check out the agenda for the 15th Annual NAMAS Auditing & Compliance Conference and register to attend!
NAMAS is a division of DoctorsManagement, LLC, a premier full-service medical consulting firm since 1956. With a team of experienced auditors and educators boasting a minimum of a CPC and CPMA certification and 10+ years of auditing-specific experience, NAMAS offers a vast range of auditing education, resources, training, and services. As the original creator of the now AAPC-affiliated CPMA credential, NAMAS instructors continue to be the go-to authorities in auditing. From DOJ and RAC auditors to CMS and Medicare Advantage Auditors to physician and hospital-based auditing professionals, our team has educated them all. We are proud to have helped so many grow and excel in the auditing and compliance field.
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