Per CMS new patient services must be personally performed by a physician with the exception of history obtained by ancillary staff.
If a nurse practitioner sees a new patient in the office to obtain the history and perform an examination but then passes the encounter off to a physician who conducts a pertinent exam (one body system/part) and determine the A/P, does this suffice as “personally performed?”
It is essentially a split/shared service in an outpatient office that is being performed. Does the physician need to do the entire E/M themselves or can the elements be divided between the physician and NP?