Summary & Overview
CPT 99379: Nursing Facility Care Supervision, 15–29 Minutes
Headline: CPT code 99379 defines short-duration supervision of nursing facility care
Lead: CPT code 99379 identifies a physician service reporting supervision of care at a nursing facility, specifying that the provider spends 15–29 minutes on the patient’s indirect care. This code standardizes reporting for clinicians who oversee the plan of care without direct, hands-on evaluation.
CPT code 99379 represents physician or qualified provider supervision of nursing facility services and matters for national billing and quality measurement because it distinguishes supervisory, indirect management time from direct evaluation and management encounters. Proper use ensures clarity in claims, supports resource tracking in post-acute settings, and aligns documentation with time-based service definitions.
Key payers covered: Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, Medicare.
What readers will learn: This publication provides benchmarks and coding context for CPT code 99379, clarifies clinical scope and typical site of service, and summarizes payer coverage considerations. It also outlines documentation elements tied to the 15–29 minute indirect care time requirement and situates the code within post-acute care billing practices.
This summary is national in scope and intended for clinicians, coders, and policy professionals seeking a concise reference for CPT code 99379.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 99379 reports physician supervision of nursing facility care, documenting the provider’s oversight of the patient’s plan of care. The service is defined by indirect patient care activities in which the provider supervises the interdisciplinary team, reviews the plan, and directs overall management.
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Service type: Supervision of nursing facility care (indirect care, 15–29 minutes)
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Typical site of service: Nursing facility (long-term care or skilled nursing facility)
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Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A primary care physician or geriatrician provides indirect supervision of care for a long-term nursing facility resident with multiple chronic conditions. The provider reviews the resident’s current plan of care, medication list, recent nursing notes, lab results, and consult reports remotely or while on-site and spends 15–29 minutes coordinating and supervising nursing facility staff in implementing changes to the plan of care. Typical workflow includes reviewing the electronic medical record, communicating with nursing staff and the facility medical director or attending nurses, authorizing orders or modifications to therapy, documenting the supervisory time and rationale in the chart, and ensuring follow-up arrangements. The typical site of service is a nursing facility or skilled nursing facility where the provider oversees care but does not perform a face-to-face comprehensive visit during that time frame. A realistic scenario: an 82-year-old resident with congestive heart failure, stage 3 chronic kidney disease, and recurrent urinary tract infections has recent weight gain and rising BNP; the provider spends 20 minutes reviewing nursing intake/output records, recent labs, and adjusts diuretic orders and monitoring parameters while coordinating with nursing to implement the plan.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
25 | Significant, separately identifiable evaluation and management service by the same physician on the same day of a procedure | When a face-to-face E/M visit occurs the same day as supervisory time and meets documentation for a separate E/M |