On Jan. 1, 2021, the Evaluation and Management (E/M) Office Visit code changes went into effect. Incorporating these groundbreaking revisions into physician workflows, software, health plans and elsewhere is vital to realizing the benefits of this burden reduction initiative.
The AMA and Nordic have collaborated to author three white papers focused on the E/M changes, including topics on physician documentation, EHR workflow and operational considerations as well as how successful organizations are moving forward.
The physician note
The updated E/M codes offer the opportunity to revisit documentation best practices, improve documentation templates and tools, create documentation etiquette guides and to educate physicians.
The AMA/Nordic's "2021 E/M Updates: What Will Happen to the Physician Note" takes a look at the impacts, risks and opportunities to health care organizations as well as reimagining the ambulatory physician note.
Key highlights on the physician note
- How did we get here?
- Easing E/M documentation requirements
- Changes to E/M guidelines
- What this means for health care organizations
- What belongs in the physician note?
- Reimagining the ambulatory progress note
- Six ways to evolve the clinic note
EHR workflow and operational considerations
The updated outpatient documentation guidelines impact EHR workflows and necessitate operational changes to take advantage of the new E/M rules.
The AMA/Nordic's "2021 E/M Updates: EHR Workflow and Operational Considerations" takes a look at the outpatient clinic visit workflow and operations from beginning to end in relationship to E/M changes.
Key highlights on EHR workflow
- How did we end up here?
- Changes to E/M guidelines
- Considerations before the clinic visit
- Considerations during the clinic visit
- Consideration after the clinic visit
- Physician coaching around workflow, documentation and billing
- Tools and resources
How successful organizations are moving forward
Organizations have enthusiastically embraced and adopted the updated E/M documentation guidelines, which focuses on succinct, clinically-relevant information presented in a physician-friendly way.
The AMA/Nordic's "2021 E/M Transition: How Organizations Are Moving Forward Successfully" takes a look how organizations have prepared their clinicians for the changes in E/M guidelines, using multiple learning opportunities along with frequent reinforcement of the new concepts.
Key highlights on how organizations are moving forward
- History of Evaluation and Management CPT codes
- Changes to ambulatory E/M codes
- What belongs in a clinic note?
- Successful adoption of new ambulatory E/M guidelines
- Early results of top performers
- Common challenges and opportunities
