Medical Decision Making Table

When selecting the level of E/M service based upon medical decision-making, the best source of information is the Level of Medical Decision-Making Table. The table includes the four levels of medical decision making (ie, straightforward, low, moderate, high) and the three elements of medical decision making (ie, “number and complexity of problems addressed,” “amount and/or complexity of data reviewed and analyzed,” “and risk of complications and/or morbidity or mortality of patient management”). To qualify for a particular level of medical decision making, two of the three elements for that level of medical decision making must be met or exceeded. It is under “Number and/or Complexity of Problems Addressed” that the issue of acute versus chronic is addressed. Acute versus chronic is not based upon a “time frame.”