The Complications Of Medical Billing Are Made Easier By The System Of Cpt Codes

By Patty Goff


There are so many complicated procedures in the medical field that it makes billing difficult. All the illnesses, procedures and medicines have complicated names. The individual who is qualified to work as a coder will have to be familiar with the Current Procedural Terminology or cpt codes to perform those duties.

There is a panel of experts who oversee maintenance of the medical code under the direction of the American Medical Association. It is called the CPT Editorial Panel. It is copyright protected by the AMA.

The coding system was devised to facilitate clarity in the communications sent from one medical expert to another department. There are separate ones to identify surgical procedures, diagnostic services and general medical procedures.

There are three types of CPT code, which differentiates between procedures. These are Category I, Category II and Category III. Some examples of the first category are outpatient care, Home health care and in-patient care in a retirement home.

They become very specific. One is used for any administration of anesthesia. A separate set of numbers is used to refer to each body part that is operated on. Examples include head, back, extremities, which have separate numbers.

The individual code numbers for surgical procedures include integumentary system, reproductive system and auditory system. The now successful cochlear implant surgery would be classified under auditory system. As you can see, this makes billing run smoothly.

Codes for radiological procedures include radiation oncology, mammography and all diagnostic ultrasound procedures. This includes those used to examine the baby when a woman is pregnant. Sometimes the sex of the baby can be identified in this procedure.

Pathology and laboratory are another category. Included are drug tests, evocative suppression testing and the simple urinalysis administered as part of any routine exam in the physicians office. Complicated testing includes hematology and coagulation, transfusion medicine and the postmortem anatomic pathology.

Routine vaccinations, administration of immunizations and kidney dialysis treatments fall under the numbers for medicine category. When someone has severe kidney disease, the dialysis keeps that person alive until a replacement kidney is matched to their blood type. A kidney transplant will relieve them of the need for dialysis.

Treatments by medical specialists come under the class of those indicating medicine. The specialists can be board-certified in psychiatry, cardiology or otorhinolaryngology. The psychiatrist treats the mind, the cardiologist the heart and the otorhinolaryngologist, the ears, nose and throat.

They include a letter of the alphabet to indicate they belong in Category II. There will be four numbers and then a letter of the alphabet. There are eleven Category II codes that include diagnostic screenings, taking a patient history and physical examination.

Category III codes include those for psychotherapy and other counseling. Some will be retired as of 2014. However psychological testing codes will not be changed. Codes are re-evaluated on an annual basis.

The American Medical Association owns the registered trademark and the copyright belongs to them. They license it out to other medical organizations for their use. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, and the Federal Register make use of these codes to make their billing work function smoothly.




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