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AAPC CPC Exam - Topic 3 Question 12 Discussion

Actual exam question for AAPC's CPC exam
Question #: 12
Topic #: 3
[All CPC Questions]

View MR 099401

MR 099401

Established Patient Office Visit

Chief Complaint: Patient presents with bilateral thyroid nodules.

History of present illness: A 54-year-old patient is here for evaluation of bilateral thyroid nodules. Thyroid ultrasound was done last week which showed multiple thyroid masses likely due to multinodular goiter. Patient stated that she can ''feel" the nodules on the left side of her thyroid. Patient denies difficulty swallowing and she denies unexplained weight loss or gain. Patient does have a family history of thyroid cancer in her maternal grandmother. She gives no other problems at this time other than a palpable right-sided thyroid mass.

Review of Systems:

Constitutional: Negative for chills, fever, and unexpected weight change.

HENT: Negative for hearing loss, trouble swallowing and voice change.

Gastrointestinal: Negative for abdominal distention, abdominal pain, anal bleeding, blood in stool, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, rectal pain, and vomiting

Endocrine: Negative for cold Intolerance and heat intolerance.

Physical Exam:

Vitals: BP: 140/72, Pulse: 96, Resp: 16, Temp: 97.6 F (36.4 C), Temporal SpO2: 97%

Weight: 89.8 kg (198 lbs ), Height: 165.1 cm (65'')

General Appearance: Alert, cooperative, in no acute distress

Head: Normocephalic, without obvious abnormality, atraumatic

Throat: No oral lesions, no thrush, oral mucosa moist

Neck: No adenopathy, supple, trachea midline, thyromegaly is present, no carotid bruit, no JVD

Lungs: Clear to auscultation, respirations regular, even, and unlabored

Heart: Regular rhythm and normal rate, normal S1 and S2, no murmur, no gallop, no rub, no click

Lymph nodes: No palpable adenopathy

ASSESSMENT/PLAN:

1) Multinodular goiter - the patient will have a percutaneous biopsy performed (minor procedure).

What E/M code is reported for this encounter?

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Suggested Answer: A

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Pansy
3 months ago
Family history of thyroid cancer is a big red flag!
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Jess
3 months ago
I disagree, I’d go with 99213 based on the details.
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Myra
4 months ago
Wait, no difficulty swallowing? That's surprising!
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Lettie
4 months ago
I think it's definitely a 99214.
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Keneth
4 months ago
Sounds like a classic case of multinodular goiter.
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Marcelle
4 months ago
I recall that the presence of a family history of thyroid cancer could add some complexity. Maybe that pushes it to 99214? I really hope I remember the coding guidelines correctly!
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Gilma
4 months ago
The patient's history and the physical exam seem pretty straightforward. I feel like 99213 might be the right choice, but I’m not completely confident.
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Pauline
4 months ago
I practiced a similar case where the patient had thyroid issues too. I think if there's a minor procedure planned, it might lean towards 99214, but I could be wrong.
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Rueben
5 months ago
I remember that for established patients, we usually look at the complexity of the visit. This one seems more involved, but I'm not sure if it's a 99213 or 99214.
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Vicente
5 months ago
This seems like a 99214 to me. The comprehensive history, detailed exam, and moderate medical decision-making all point to that level of service. I feel pretty good about this assessment, but I'll do one more quick review just to be certain.
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Elbert
5 months ago
I'm a little unsure about this one. The history and exam seem pretty detailed, but I'm not totally confident in selecting the right E/M code. Maybe I should review the guidelines again to make sure I'm not missing anything important.
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Rebeca
5 months ago
Hmm, this looks like a pretty straightforward established patient visit. I'll need to carefully review the history, exam, and assessment to determine the appropriate E/M code.
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Georgeanna
5 months ago
Okay, let me think this through step-by-step. The chief complaint is bilateral thyroid nodules, and the history covers the relevant details. The exam findings seem comprehensive. Based on that, I'm leaning towards a 99213 code, but I'll double-check the criteria to be sure.
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Rosita
5 months ago
Availability of alternative responses seems like it would reduce the effectiveness of punishment, since the person could just do something else instead.
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Elmer
5 months ago
Hmm, this seems like a tricky one. I'll need to think through the Azure Sentinel capabilities carefully to determine the right approach.
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Timothy
5 months ago
Okay, let's see. I think the key here is to avoid the routes being redistributed back into the OMP from the LAN side. That means we need to look for an option that specifically addresses that issue.
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Gwenn
5 months ago
Okay, I've got this. The first step is to create a login schema profile and select the uploaded custom form file. That's going to be the answer, I'm confident about that.
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