Summary & Overview
CPT 97804: Group Medical Nutrition Therapy, 30-Minute Increment
CPT code 97804 denotes group medical nutrition therapy provided by a qualified clinician for two or more patients, billed per 30-minute increment. This code matters nationally as group diet therapy is a common, cost-conscious delivery model for managing chronic diseases and nutrition-related conditions, supporting population health and outpatient care efficiency. It allows clinicians to document structured diet therapy when multiple patients receive the same instruction and counseling simultaneously.
Key payers covered in this analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise orientation to how 97804 is defined clinically and operationally, plus an overview of payer coverage considerations and common modifiers. The publication outlines typical sites of service, the group-based service model, and where this code fits within outpatient nutrition services.
This summary prepares readers to use the full publication to review benchmarks, payer policy variations, coding guidance, and clinical context for group medical nutrition therapy. Data not available in the input for certain fields — such as associated taxonomies, specific ICD-10 pairings, and related codes — are noted as unavailable elsewhere in the report.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 97804 describes group medical nutrition therapy where a provider delivers specific diet therapy to treat medical conditions and related symptoms by interacting with a group of two or more patients. The code represents each 30 minutes of a group visit involving two or more patients.
Service type: Group medical nutrition/diet therapy
Typical site of service: Outpatient clinic or ambulatory care setting where group therapy is provided
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A typical patient scenario involves a registered dietitian or licensed nutrition professional leading a structured group diet therapy session for patients with chronic metabolic or gastrointestinal conditions. For example, a primary care clinic organizes a weekly 60-minute group session for four adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity who need targeted medical nutrition therapy to improve glycemic control and weight management. The provider conducts the group session in an outpatient clinic education room or hospital-based outpatient nutrition classroom, interacting with the group to review individualized meal planning, carbohydrate counting, medication-food interactions, and behavior-change strategies. Documentation includes attendee names, start and end times, focused medical nutrition therapy goals, individualized assessment comments within the group context, specific diet instructions provided, progress toward clinical targets (for example, fasting glucose or A1c trends), and a plan for follow-up. Billing uses 97804 per each 30 minutes of face-to-face group time with two or more patients; for a 60-minute session with four patients the provider would bill two units of 97804. Typical sites of service are outpatient clinics, hospital outpatient departments, community health centers, and ambulatory education spaces. Common clinical workflow steps: pre-visit chart review, group education delivery, individualization of recommendations documented in the group note, brief one-on-one counseling as needed within the group visit timeframe, and scheduling of follow-up individual or group MNT visits.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|