Current Procedural Terminology codes, also known as CPT (CPT is a registered trademark of the American Medical Association, or AMA) codes, are codes that stand for procedures, both medical and psychiatric, performed on a patient. Each CPT code is unique and describes a specific medical procedure. The code 173.01, for example, indicates the presence of the condition called basal cell carcinoma of
. skin of lip, in other words, cancer of the lip. There are modifier codes that further refine the procedure's description by listing additional diagnoses and treatments. The Health Care Financing Administration, or HCFA, designed the codes to aid in the disbursement of reimbursement payments to patient providers who are affiliated with Medicare. Providers who are not associated with Medicare, managed care providers, for example, and insurance companies, also employ the use of CPT codes in their billing procedures. The AMA has helped to refine the codes and maintains and updates the list of codes for the medical community every year. Each year in October, a new and updated book of CPT codes is released. The current edition, CPT 2012 (CPT / Current Procedural Terminology (Professional Edition)), by Michelle Abraham, Jay T. Ahlman, Caryn Anderson and Angela J. Boudreau, is available for sale at some major bookstores such as Barnes and Noble and online at websites such as Amazon and Medical Coding Books. Online resources for finding and identifying these codes also abound. The AMA's website offers a complete searchable database of CPT codes, as do websites such as Find a Code, Super Coder and My Health Score. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, also maintains a CPT code database for its users. These websites are free to use and provide one with much information regarding CPT coding as well as a list of the actual CPT codes and what condition and procedure each represents. More Reference Links: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/solutions-managing-your-practice/coding-billing-insurance/cpt.page http://www.meditec.com/resourcestools/icd-codes/coding-cpt-codes/
