The American Medical Association (AMA) announced the culmination of medicine’s annual effort to capture and describe the latest scientific advances in medical, surgical, and diagnostic services with the recent public release of the 2013 Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code set. The new code set should be used for claims filed as of January 1, 2013.
"Medical knowledge is constantly advancing and as steward of CPT, the AMA invests extensive resources each year to keep the code set current with contemporary medical science and technology so it can fulfill its vital role as the health system’s universal language for reporting medical procedures," said AMA President Jeremy A. Lazarus, MD.
Broad input from the health care community has allowed CPT to better support the reporting needs of physicians and others participating in emerging models of care, such as a patient-centered medical home, accountable care organization, and other novel integrated delivery systems.
The CPT changes better capture the work involved in managing patients with complex chronic conditions within one of the new integrated delivery systems. While codes for some of these care coordination services were already available, the new care coordination codes for 2013 allow medical practices to efficiently report time spent connecting patients to community services, transitioning them from inpatient to other settings, and preventing readmissions. These are all critical components of improving health outcomes and reducing health,care system costs.
