what is E & M SERVICES

Evaluation and Management Services

According to Medicare’s Documentation Guidelines for Evaluation and Management Services, a level-3 established patient office visit requires medical decision making of low complexity. Moderate-complexity decision making is required for a level-4 encounter. Before you can distinguish between the two, you must understand that the level of medical decision making in a patient encounter is based on three parameters: the problems addressed, the data reviewed and the level of risk.


The problems and data are evaluated using a system of weighted points depicted in the tables. These tables were developed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and distributed to all Medicare carriers to be used on a voluntary basis; although widely used, they are not part of the official E/M guidelines.

An encounter earns points based on the number and type of problems addressed. For example, an encounter with a patient whose chronic illness is stable would be worth one “problem” point, while an encounter involving a patient with a new problem for which additional work-up is planned would be worth four points. The data table works similarly, with different numbers of points available depending on the type of data and the nature of the review. For example, reviewing or ordering a clinical lab test is worth one point, while reviewing and summarizing old patient records is worth two.

The risk table is identical to the one in the E/M guidelines. It only takes one element from any of the three categories listed in the table (presenting problems, diagnostic procedures and selected management options) to qualify for a particular level of risk. The documentation guidelines explicitly state that the physician should use the highest level of risk present when determining the complexity of the medical decision making. For example, an encounter with a patient who presents with one stable chronic illness would amount to a low level of risk. However, if the physician actively manages prescription drug therapy during the encounter, the risk level for the visit qualifies as moderate, because prescription drug management is associated with moderate risk.

After you determine the problem points, the data points and the level of risk, you can determine the complexity of the medical decision making. The “Medical decision making” table shows how the categories work together. The highest two of three elements determine the overall level of medical decision making.