AMA announces new CPT guidance during COVID-19 pandemic

Mar 26, 2020 at 05:25 pm by Staff


March 26 - Furthering its work to support physicians on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Medical Association (AMA) today announced new coding guidance to assist physicians and medical practices in using Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) to properly report medical services provided to COVID-19 patients.

This authoritative guidance from the curators of CPT provides special coding advice and outlines 11 scenarios to help health care professionals apply best coding practices for office, telehealth, or online services provided to patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also includes a quick-reference flowchart that outlines CPT reporting for COVID-19 testing and a new AMA web page devoted to information on CMS payment policies and regulatory flexibilities related to COVID-19.

"Equipping a health care workforce to accurately code medical procedures streamlines communication across the health system, reducing administrative and rework costs at a time when resources are stretched by the COVID-19 pandemic," said AMA President Patrice A. Harris, M.D. "The AMA's new special coding advice provides guidance to the right audience at the right time in a format that is easily grasped by users."

Today's release adds to the growing list of essential tools and resources the AMA has designed to help physicians navigate the urgent public health crisis facing the country. These resources are easily accessible on the AMA's website where physicians can also find the latest guidance on how to prevent, diagnose and treat COVID-19.

Other new COVID-19 physician and practice resources released by the AMA include:

The AMA will continue to release additional resources in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to support physicians and the patients they care for.

Sections: COVID