NextGen Knowledge Center

Evaluation and Management Coding Under 2021 Coding Guidelines

After you install the update package for NextGen® Adaptive Content Engine, you can perform Evaluation and Management (E&M) coding under 2021 Coding Guidelines for the FTS Finalize, Ophthalmology Finalize, and Cardiology Finalize templates. For information on installing the package, go to NextGen Healthcare Success Community and download the latest 2021 E&M Coding Updates Installation Guide for NextGen® Adaptive Content Engine.

The 2021 Coding Guidelines calculate E&M codes based on one of the following:
  • Medical Decision Making (MDM) level selected
  • Total time spent on patient care and documentation for the visit, which includes the face-to-face time with the patient and other time personally spent by the physician and/or other qualified healthcare professionals on the day of the encounter

You can include counseling time in the total time, but the 2021 Coding Guidelines do not require that over 50 percent of the total time be spent in counseling or coordinating care.

The 2021 Coding Guidelines apply to certain visit types that use codes 99202-99205 for a new patient and 99211-99215 for an established patient. The available E&M codes vary by specialty and visit type.

You must set the effective date for the 2021 Coding Guidelines on the Practice Configuration template or Ngkbm Config template based on your application version. The application uses the selected 95 or 97 Coding Guidelines for visit types and encounters that do not fall under the 2021 guidelines.

For more information on E&M coding, go to NextGen Healthcare Success Community and download the latest E&M Coding User Guide forNextGen®Adaptive Content Engine.