Can an Assistant Provide an E-Visit or Telephone Service

Due to the Public Health Emergency (PHE) as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have designated the following CPT codes and HCPCS Level II codes as “sometimes therapy” CPT codes:

G2010: Remote evaluation of recorded video and/or images submitted by an established patient (e.g., store and forward), including interpretation with follow-up with the patient within 24 business hours, not originating from a related E/M service provided within the previous 7 days nor leading to an E/M service or procedure within the next 24 hours or soonest available appointment

G2012: Brief communication technology-based service, e.g. virtual check-in, by a physician or other qualified health care professional who can report evaluation and management services, provided to an established patient, not originating from a related E/M service provided within the previous 7 days nor leading to an E/M service or procedure within the next 24 hours or soonest available appointment; 5-10 minutes of medical discussion

G2061: Qualified non-physician healthcare professional online assessment and management service, for an established patient, for up to seven days, cumulative time during the 7 days; 5–10 minutes

G2062: Qualified non-physician healthcare professional online assessment and management service, for an established patient, for up to seven days, cumulative time during the 7 days; 11-20 minutes

G2063: •Qualified non-physician healthcare professional assessment and management service, for an established patient, for up to seven days, cumulative time during the 7 days; 21 or more minutes

98970: Qualified non-physician healthcare professional online digital evaluation and management service, for an established patient, for up to 7 days, cumulative time during the 7 days; 5–10 minutes

98971: Qualified non-physician healthcare professional online digital evaluation and management service, for an established patient, for up to 7 days, cumulative time during the 7 days; 11–20 minutes

98972: Qualified non-physician healthcare professional online digital evaluation and management service, for an established patient, for up to 7 days, cumulative time during the 7 days; 21 or more minutes

We know these codes can now be billed by physical therapists and occupational therapist, but can a physical therapist assistant (PTA) or occupational therapy assistant (OTA) perform an E-Visit, a Virtual Check-In and/or a Telephone Service and bill for it under the national provider identifier (NPI) number of the physical therapist or occupational therapist in private practice that is providing the appropriate level of supervision?

During a CMS phone call on April 9, 2020, I had the opportunity to ask this question. The answer from CMS is that an E-Visit, Virtual Check-In and/or Telephone Service

I hope you found this article informative. As additional information is released by CMS, I will either update this article and/or publish a brand new article. Thank you for being a Gold Member!