More than 100 organizations and health groups, including the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) and the American College of Radiology (ACR), are supporting a plan by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to reduce paperwork requirements in filing codes for evaluation and management (E/M) procedures.
The American Medical Association (AMA) is spearheading the support of CMS' Patients Over Paperwork Initiative, which is included in the 2019 Medicare physician payment rule, as a way for physicians to spend more time with patients and less time on paperwork.
In an endorsement letter, the organizations contend that the "excessive E/M documentation requirements do not just take time away from patient care; they also make it more difficult to locate medical information in patients' records that is necessary to provide high-quality care."