New CPT codes for performance measurement: won't be reimbursed separately.(Practical Trends)

NEW ORLEANS -- The 2004 Current Procedural Terminology code manual includes 11 new codes for performance measurement, according to Emily Hill, a coding specialist.

"There are things that you do--diabetic foot care, instruction on diet, smoking cessation [counseling]--that managed care organizations are interested in having you perform, and they wanted you to get these codes so you could report that you had done it," said Ms. Hill, president of Hill and Associates, a Wilmington, N.C., consulting firm that specializes in coding issues.

However, plans will not be paying separately for those services. The first 11 codes will be for cardiovascular-related services, with more to come, she said at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

There were also several changes in the 2003 CPT manual that some physicians may still not know about. For instance, there is now a new code for vulvar biopsy that is performed in conjunction with a colposcopy--56821--as well as a new code for vulvar colposcopy without biopsy--56820. New vaginal colposcopy codes include 57420 (without biopsy) and 57421 (with biopsy).

Codes for obstetric ultrasound and cervical colposcopy have been revised. The standard code for ultrasound at less than 14 weeks is 76801, with 76802 for each additional gestation and 76805 for ultrasound at 14 weeks or later. Cervical colposcopy now has a series of codes, 57452-57461, including codes for endocervical curettage, biopsy, and loop electrode conization.

The codes for simple and complicated catheter insertions have also changed; they are ...