2015 CPT Updates

Posted on 12.03.2014

It is a well known fact that things change in the coding industry. Every year codes are revised, updated, deleted, inserted; and 2015 is no exception. For the upcoming year, there are over 500 CPT changes! 264 new codes, 143 deleted codes, 134 revised codes, and a few guidelines are among the changes.

The American Medical Association always includes highly visible symbols in the CPT publication indicating the new, revised, and deleted codes.

• A red bullet is inserted next to all of the new codes

• A blue triangle appears next to codes that have been revised

• Deleted information is formatted with a strikethrough

• New information is underlined

All of these formatting marks make for easy referencing. A summary of all changes is also located in Appendix B, Summary of Additions, Deletions, and Revisions. This is a great place to start when you receive a new year’s CPT book and want to see what the new year has in store.

syringeFor example, the CPT code 20610, is listed in Appendix B as, “Arthrocentesis, aspiration and/or injection, major joint or bursa (e.g., shoulder, hip, knee, subacromial bursa); major joint or bursa (e.g., shoulder, hip, knee joint, subacromial bursa) without ultrasound guidance.

A new code 20611 has been created. “Arthrocentesis, aspiration and/or injection, major joint or bursa (e.g., shoulder, hip, knee, subacromial bursa); with ultrasound guidance, with permanent recording and reporting.

The 20610 code has a blue triangle next to it indicating this is a revised code, and 20611 has a red bullet indicating it is new.

Happy Coding!