Summary & Overview
HCPCS G0547: Interprofessional Mental Health E-Consult, 11–20 Minutes
HCPCS Level II code G0547 identifies an interprofessional consultative assessment and management service delivered via telephone, internet, or electronic health record by a practitioner in a specialty limited to the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. The service includes 11–20 minutes of consultative discussion and review and requires both a verbal and written report to the treating or requesting practitioner. Nationally, this code supports coordinated care, enables remote specialty input, and records discrete time-based consultative work for mental health specialties.
Key payers covered in this analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find an overview of national policy relevance, typical sites of service, and payer coverage considerations. The publication summarizes clinical context for when interprofessional electronic or telephone consults are used, time-based reporting expectations tied to the 11–20 minute range, and common modifier usage where provided. It also highlights benchmarking and coding practice notes when available and flags areas where data was not provided.
This resource is intended for billing professionals, practice administrators, and policy analysts seeking a concise reference to the clinical purpose and administrative context of G0547 across major payers.
Billing Code Overview
HCPCS Level II code G0547 describes an interprofessional telephone/internet/electronic health record assessment and management service provided by a practitioner in a specialty whose covered services are limited by statute to the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. The service includes a verbal and written report to the patient's treating or requesting practitioner and involves 11–20 minutes of medical consultative discussion and review.
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Service type: Interprofessional consultative assessment and management
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Typical site of service: Consultation initiated and completed via telephone, internet, or electronic health record; the practitioner providing the service is in a mental-health-limited specialty
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A primary care clinician requests a consult from a psychiatrist for a patient with worsening mood symptoms and unclear medication response. The patient is a 42-year-old adult with a history of major depressive disorder, increasing insomnia, and new suicidal ideation after a recent medication change. The primary care clinician sends pertinent history and recent labs via the electronic health record and asks the psychiatric specialist to review records, discuss the case by telephone or secure messaging, and provide verbal and written recommendations to guide urgent outpatient management. The psychiatric specialist spends approximately 15 minutes reviewing the chart, correlating medication interactions, and speaking with the requesting clinician, then documents a consultative note and care recommendations in the EHR for the treating clinician to implement.
Typical workflow steps:
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The treating/requesting practitioner documents the clinical question and forwards relevant records to the psychiatric specialist via EHR messaging or secure portal.
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The psychiatric specialist reviews records, medication lists, and available labs/images, then engages in interprofessional communication (telephone, secure message, or EHR consult) with the treating practitioner for 11–20 minutes of consultative discussion and review.
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The psychiatric specialist provides a verbal report and follows with a written consult note or addendum in the EHR summarizing assessment and recommendations.
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The treating practitioner receives the recommendations and documents resulting plan changes (medication adjustments, urgent behavioral health referral, safety planning).