Final answer:
A new patient in CPT coding is defined as someone who has not been seen by the physician or a health care professional with the same specialty within the same group practice for a minimum of three years, making the correct choice C. 3 years.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) coding rules, a new patient is one who has not received professional services from the physician or a qualified health care professional in the practice of the exact same specialty and subspecialty for a minimum of three years.
A new patient for coding purposes is one that has not had a face-to-face service with the physician or another provider of the same specialty and subspecialty in the same group practice within the past three years. It's important for billing and insurance purposes to differentiate between new and established patients, as this distinction can impact the coding and billing process. Any patient who has been seen by the health care provider or their practice group within three years is considered an established patient, regardless of whether the patient considers themselves "new" or not.