E/M Beyond the Office: Hospital, ED, Consults & Telehealth
Hospital inpatient and observation codes, emergency department levels, consultations, critical care, nursing facility, prolonged services, split/shared visits and telehealth.
Hospital inpatient and observation
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Since 2023, inpatient and observation visits share one code family, leveled by MDM or total time (like office visits):
• 99221–99223 — initial hospital inpatient or observation care, per day
• 99231–99233 — subsequent hospital care, per day
• 99234–99236 — admitted and discharged on the same date
• 99238 / 99239 — discharge day management (30 minutes or less / more than 30 minutes)
Only one initial-care code per admission per specialty; other physicians seeing the patient use subsequent-care or consult codes per payer rules.