New year, new code: Things to remember when billing for CCM

Beginning this year, physicians and other qualified health care professionals will be able to separately bill Medicare for providing non-face-to-face chronic care management, or CCM, services, by billing CPT code 99490. In recognizing and paying for these non-face-to-face services, CMS has taken an important step toward recognizing that care coordination is an essential feature of providing high-quality primary care and that important aspects of this care occur when the patient is not in the office. We have described the scope of service in Part I and health information technology requirements in Part II. In Part III we discussed uncertainties surrounding patient eligibility, scope of services and patient consent. This article addresses implementation issues that physicians should keep in mind as they develop their capabilities to bill for CCM, particularly if they consider using third-party contract employees to provide CCM services.