Introduction
The Medicine section of CPT consists of a variety of therapeutic, diagnostic and other services and procedures for a variety of specialties. It includes specialty-specific codes for such areas as psychiatry, ophthalmology, and endocrinology. Codes for services performed by health-care providers other than physicians (physical therapy, occupational therapy, and nutritional counseling) are also included in this section.
Some codes represent special services by physicians and other services that do not fit perfectly into other CPT sections. There are 34 subsections of the Medicine section.The CPT Medicine section classifies noninvasive or minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and services. Noninvasive procedures require no surgical incision or excision, and they are not open procedures. Minimally invasive procedures include percutaneous access.
Objectives
Upon completion of this module, the student will be able to:
- Assign codes to report the administration of vaccines or toxoids
- Apply coding guidelines to identify and code injections and infusions
- List the types of services included in the Medicine section
Readings & Resources
Required textbook reading: Kuehn, Lynn. Procedural Coding and Reimbursement for Physician Services: Applying Current Procedural Terminology and HCPCS. AHIMA Press. 2012 edition.
Chapter 7
AMA, Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) 2013. Professional Edition.