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Current Procedure Terminology
(CPT) codes
Current Procedure
Terminology (CPT) codes are part of the code
set standard selected by HIPAA, used to describe health
care services in electronic transactions.
CPT was developed
by the American Medical Association (AMA) in the 1960s, and
soon became part of the standard code set for Medicare and
Medicaid. In subsequent decades it was adopted by private
insurance carriers and managed care companies, and became
the de facto standard.
CPT is now in its
fifth version (CPT-5). In CPT-5, there are three categories
of CPT codes. Category I codes are designated for services
common in "contemporary medical practice and being performed
by many physicians in clinical practice in multiple locations."
For each, there is a five-digit code and a text descriptor
-- e.g., "82270 - Fecal occult blood test."
Category II and III codes are designed to facilitate data
collection for performance measurement or for new services
and technologies that have not yet become common. They consist
of four digits and an alphanumeric -- e.g., "1234C"
-- along with an appropriate descriptor.
The Healthcare
Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) incorporates CPT
codes as part of its system for classifying services for reimbursement.
See also:
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