The American Medical Association has issued a temporary code for reimbursement of online consultations between physicians and patients. Current Procedural Terminology code 0074T will become official in July, but the AMA said it released the code earlier to give providers enough time to enter it into their information systems.
The CPT code covers a physician or care professional’s response to a patient’s online inquiry. It does not cover patient contact, such as a telephone call, related to other pre- or post-visit work. However, it would cover calls, prescriptions and lab orders pertaining to the online consultation. The new code will make it easier for doctors to receive payment from insurers for online visits. However, each insurer will still decide whether to pay for e-mail consultations.
Currently, “only a handful” of payers reimburse for online consultations, mostly through pilots or other programs. A recent Jupiter survey found that only 9% of U.S. doctors e-mail their patients more than five times a week, and these online visits are usually for appointment scheduling or billing questions.