CPT 99203E/M Office Visit, New Patient, Low-to-Moderate Complexity
Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of a new patient, which requires a medically appropriate history and/or examination and low level of medical decision making
CPT 99203 reports an E/M office visit for a new patient with low level medical decision making, or 30 to 44 minutes total time on the date of service.
When to use CPT 99203
Use for a new patient visit with low complexity MDM or 30 to 44 minutes total time.
Documentation requirements
- MDM or total time
- History and exam as medically appropriate
Reimbursement
Use the current payer fee schedule for this code, locality, service setting and date of service.
Rates and patient responsibility depend on the payer and service. No unsourced national average is presented here.
Common modifiers
- -25
Common denial reasons for CPT 99203
- Documentation does not support level
Verify CPT 99203 against official sources
Use the code set and payer policy applicable to the date of service. This educational reference is not a coverage decision or a substitute for a qualified coding review.
- CMS Physician Fee Schedule: select the year, locality and service setting before looking up payment information.
- CMS NCCI edits and manuals: check the applicable code-pair edits and modifier instructions.
- Medicare Coverage Database: find relevant coverage and documentation policies.
- AMA CPT resources: consult the current licensed code set.
A practical documentation check
- Match the documented service to the code definition.
- Confirm patient status, laterality, components and any required interpretation.
- Check coverage, edits and payer-specific requirements.
- Have the responsible clinician or billing reviewer resolve discrepancies before submission.
Editorial sources updated September 15, 2026. Published by Jelo.
Jelo’s AI scribe is an upcoming add-on from $70/month. It is being developed to assist with documentation and code suggestions; clinicians and billing staff must verify every code. It is not included in the live platform subscription.
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