AMA Announces New CPT® codes as COVID-19 Advancements Expand
On September 8, 2020, the American Medical Association (AMA) published an update to the CPT® code set that includes two new codes for reporting medical services during the COVID-19 PHE. This update to the code set was approved by the CPT® Editorial Panel to “meet the needs of the health care industry as medical advancements expand the fight against COVID-19” and are effective immediately:
99072 – Additional supplies, materials, and clinical staff time over and above those usually included in an office visit or other non-facility service(s), when performed during a Public Health Emergency as defined by law, due to respiratory-transmitted infectious disease.
- This code was established to report additional practice expenses incurred during the PHE, including supplies, materials and additional clinical staff time. Examples include masks, cleaning supplies, pre-visit screening time and additional cleaning time by staff.
86413 – Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (Coronavirus disease [COVID-19]) antibody, quantitative
- This code was established to report quantitative antibody detection for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as a means to assist in the study of the epidemiology, pathogenesis, prevention, and treatment of COVID-19.
The AMA also published the CPT® Assistant Special Edition: September Update to provide code descriptions; description of procedure; clinical examples; and questions and answers regarding these two new codes.
To read the press release in its entirety, click here:
To review the CPT® Assistant reference guide in its entirety, click here: https://www.ama-assn.org/system/files/2020-09/cpt-assistant-guide-coronavirus-september-2020.pdf
