CPT stands for “Current Procedural Terminology.” In healthcare, CPT codes are specific numbers that are given to medical services and treatments that patients receive.

The American Medical Association (AMA) decides which codes are used for which services and treatments. “CPT” is a registered trademark of the American Medical Association.

Right now, there are three main categories of CPT coding sections. They are Category I, Category II and Category III (1).

In medical coding, it’s extremely important to be as specific as possible when describing the care and treatment a patient has received. To be more precise, Category I is further broken down into six main sections. The main sections of Category I codes include (1):

– Codes for Evaluation and Management

– Anesthesia

– Surgery

– Radiology

– Pathology and Laboratory

– Medicine

Each section has many different CPT codes that are assigned to professional healthcare services a patient may receive. There are a range of numbers given to each broad category of care.

In order to for medical billing to be accurate and very specific, the medical coder must review the type of care and services the patient received, and choose the correct category and section of codes. From there, the coder will identify specific codes within the range of numbers.

For example, here are some services and codes that fall under the “Codes for Evaluation and Management” in Category I(1):

(99221 – 99239) hospital inpatient services

(99281 – 99288) emergency dept services

(99381 – 99429) preventive medicine services

The bill–or “medical claim”–for a patient who received hospital inpatient services would likely include CPT codes that fall within the code number range of 99221 through 99239.

There are thousands of codes approved by the AMA. Each year, the listing of current codes is reviewed and updated, and new codes may be added.

How do these codes differ from ICD-9 and ICD-10 coding used for medical billing?

ICD-9 and ICD-10 coding usually pertain more to the patient’s diagnosis. CPT codes are specific to the healthcare services and treatment received by the patient. Medical billing and coding requires accuracy and great attention to detail to all types of medical coding that’s used to create the medical claim.