Prolonged services with or without direct patient contact on the date of an evaluation and management (E/M) service have two codes: 99417 and 99418.
- Code 99417 is used to report prolonged service on the date of an outpatient visit or visit to home/residence.
- Code 99418 is used to report prolonged service in a hospital or nursing facility.
These codes are reported only when the time of the primary service has been selected based solely on time and exceeds by 15 minutes. Prolonged time codes are reported in increments of 15 minutes.
Written By
Veronica Bradley, CPC, CPMA, has more than 20 years’ experience in medical coding and auditing in various specialties. She is also well-versed hierarchical condition category and risk adjustment coding. Other areas of expertise include E/M, procedural coding, Medicare reimbursement and other critical factors in coding and auditing. Veronica has worked in private practice, group practices, academic school of medicine and hospitals. Veronica received a bachelor’s degree in health information management and a minor in healthcare administration from Regis University in Denver.