MEAT criteria meaning: Monitor, Evaluate, Assess, Treat. What each letter looks like in a note, one worked example, and whether CMS actually requires it.
MEAT criteria are a documentation test risk adjustment coders use to decide whether a chronic condition in a note can be coded. MEAT stands for Monitor, Evaluate, Assess and Treat. If the clinician's note shows at least one of these for the condition at that encounter, the condition was addressed and is generally supportable for risk adjustment.
MEAT is a coding convention, not a CMS regulation. It's a practical way to check the real requirement: that a diagnosis was addressed at a qualifying face-to-face encounter and is clearly supported in the record. How to apply it condition by condition, and what never counts however the note is written, is covered in MEAT documentation for chronic conditions.
What each letter means
| Letter | Meaning | Example in a note |
|---|---|---|
| Monitor | Signs, symptoms, progression or regression of the condition | "Shortness of breath on stairs, unchanged from last visit" |
| Evaluate | Test results, exam findings, response to treatment | "A1c 7.8, up from 7.1" |
| Assess | The clinician's judgment or discussion of the condition's status | "COPD, stable on current inhalers" |
| Treat | Medication, therapy, referral or other plan for the condition | "Increase lisinopril to 20 mg; recheck BMP in two weeks" |
Each example ties the evidence to a specific condition. That link is the point. A medication list, a problem list or a past history entry on its own doesn't show the condition was addressed at this visit.
One condition, two notes
Illustrative lines, not from a real patient.
Doesn't meet MEAT:
Problem list: CHF, DM2, HTN.
Heart failure appears, but nothing shows it was monitored, evaluated, assessed or treated at the encounter.
Meets MEAT:
Chronic systolic heart failure: weight stable, trace ankle edema, no orthopnea. Continue carvedilol and furosemide.
Monitor (symptoms), Evaluate (exam), Assess (stable) and Treat (medications) are all present and tied to the condition. One element would usually be enough; all four make the diagnosis much harder to dispute.
Is MEAT required by CMS?
No. CMS doesn't define MEAT, and its RADV medical record reviewer guidance doesn't use the term. The official requirements come from the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, which direct coders to report conditions that coexist at the encounter and affect patient care, treatment or management, and from CMS's documentation rules: a face-to-face encounter with an acceptable provider, authenticated with a signature and credentials, dated within the year.
MEAT became the industry standard because it turns those rules into something a coder can check line by line. A note that meets MEAT almost always meets the guideline. It can still fail an audit for a missing signature, the wrong provider type or a date outside the year.
MEAT, TAMPER and other variants
Some organizations use TAMPER (Treatment, Assessment, Monitor or Medicate, Plan, Evaluate, Referral) or similar acronyms. They test the same thing with different letters. Use whichever your organization has written into its coding policy, and apply it consistently.
How many elements a condition needs is a policy decision, not a federal rule. Many organizations accept one clear element tied to the condition; some plans and auditors expect more for high-value diagnoses. Check your contracts and write the rule down.
Applying MEAT consistently across thousands of notes is where coding programs drift.
Related questions
What does MEAT stand for in medical coding?
MEAT stands for Monitor, Evaluate, Assess and Treat. Coders use it to check whether a chronic condition was actually addressed at an encounter before coding it for risk adjustment.
Does a condition need all four MEAT elements?
Usually not. Many organizations accept one clear element tied to the condition, though some plans and auditors expect more for high-value diagnoses. Your organization's written coding policy should set the rule.
Does MEAT apply outside risk adjustment?
The idea does. Any outpatient diagnosis should reflect a condition that affected care at the encounter. MEAT is most associated with risk adjustment because chronic conditions there must be supported every year to count toward the risk score.
Who uses MEAT criteria?
Risk adjustment coders use MEAT to decide what can be coded, clinical documentation integrity specialists use it to write queries, auditors use it to test submitted diagnoses, and clinicians are often trained on it so their notes show how each chronic condition was managed.
Is MEAT the same for every health plan?
The letters are the same, but how plans apply them varies. Some accept any one element, some expect specific elements for certain conditions, and some use a different acronym altogether. Follow the policy in your contract or your organization's coding guidelines.
This page is general education on risk adjustment documentation. It isn't a coding determination for any specific patient or encounter.
