Current Procedural Terminology

Current Procedural Terminology
AbbreviationCPT
StatusPublished
Latest versionCPT 2021
October 2021
OrganizationAmerican Medical Association
EditorsCPT Editorial Panel
DomainMedical classification
Websitewww.ama-assn.org/amaone/cpt-current-procedural-terminology

The Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code set is a procedural code set developed by the American Medical Association (AMA). It is maintained by the CPT Editorial Panel.[1] The CPT code set describes medical, surgical, and diagnostic services and is designed to communicate uniform information about medical services and procedures among physicians, coders, patients, accreditation organizations, and payers for administrative, financial, and analytical purposes. New editions are released each October,[2] with CPT 2021 being in use since October 2021. It is available in both a standard edition and a professional edition.[3][4]

CPT coding is similar to ICD-10-CM coding, except that it identifies the services rendered, rather than the diagnosis on the claim. Whilst the ICD-10-PCS codes also contains procedure codes, those are only used in the inpatient setting.[5]

CPT is identified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as Level 1 of the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System. Although its use has become federally regulated, the CPT's copyright has not entered the public domain. Users of the CPT code set must pay license fees to the AMA.

  1. ^ AMA (CPT) CPT Process Archived May 11, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Laura Southard Durham (1 June 2008). Lippincott Williams and Wilkins' Administrative Medical Assisting. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. pp. 2–. ISBN 978-0-7817-9789-4. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  3. ^ Michelle Abraham; Jay T. Ahlman; Angela J. Boudreau; Judy L. Connelly; Desiree D. Evans; Rejina L Glenn (30 October 2010). CPT 2011 Standard Edition. American Medical Association Press. ISBN 978-1-60359-216-1. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  4. ^ American Medical Association; American Medical Association (COR); Michelle Abraham; Jay T. Ahlman; Angela J. Boudreau; Judy L. Connelly (30 October 2010). CPT 2011 Professional Edition. American Medical Association Press. ISBN 978-1-60359-217-8. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  5. ^ Alexander, Sherri, Pharm.D. (1 November 2003). "Overview of inpatient coding" (PDF). American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy. 60 (21 Suppl 6): S11-4. doi:10.1093/ajhp/60.suppl_6.S11. PMID 14619128. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 September 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2013.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)