Simpler coding descriptors for E/M codes sought. (Proposal would Reduce Hassle Factor).

WASHINGTON -- Coding descriptors for evaluation and management services could soon be simplified.

In August, a workgroup assembled by the American Medical Association's CPT Editorial Panel proposed revisions that would eliminate the need to break down work into key components or individual activities.

The workgroup's draft report will be reviewed by the panel, which will issue a final report sometime this month or in November.

If adopted, the simplifications stand to take one more hassle out of the hassle factor.

In the proposal, evaluation and management (E/M) codes would still represent five levels of outpatient and three levels of inpatient visits, with each level of service recognizing the amount of total physician work performed during that visit, Dr. Tracy Gordy, chair of the American Medical Association's CPT Editorial Panel, said in an interview.

What will change is the documentation process. More emphasis will be placed on the decision making, rather than the patient's history or what went on during the exam.

In documenting the visit, "you want to put in the pertinent things that got you to your decision making," Dr. Gordy said.