Medical coding is a vast field and it contains an ocean of codes. As of the year 2023-2024, there are almost 100,000 codes, which is 10% more than the previous year. So this increase represents the importance of new codes and their updates. However, only a few are used more commonly during medical billing. So today we are providing you with a massive medical coding list containing top codes.
This list will help you understand what popular codes are being used in the healthcare industry and where you have to use them.
Category System Of Codes
Since it is difficult to recognize code for any medical service, codes that are used to describe similar treatments are grouped together. This grouping helps billers and coders search the category and find the suitable code they want to use efficiently.
So how many categories medical coding list consist of, let’s see:
Evaluation And Management (E/M)
These are the treatments that involve the evaluation of the patient’s condition. It helps report the time and complexity of patient cases.
Procedural
As the name indicates, these codes help represent a wide range of medical procedures. It may include simple office visits to complicated patients’ surgeries. Procedural codes cater to the areas of surgery, radiology, and laboratory medicine.
Medical Decision Making
MDM refers to the codes that define the complexity of a patient’s condition and the level of decision-making required to deal with the situation.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis codes simply define the patient’s diagnosis.
Supplies And Devices
These codes are mentioned in a bill to show the medical devices and supplements used during the treatment. It helps define all the equipment used on the patient which helps in accurate reimbursement.
Medical Coding List
Now that you have seen basic categories each of which contains thousands of codes, let’s dive in more into the world of codes and see a massive medical coding list that is used in the modern healthcare era. While we can’t list all the codes due to the length matters, here is a short list of codes under each category.
99214: Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of an established patient, which requires a medically appropriate history and/or examination and moderate decision-making.
99204: Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of an established patient, which requires a medically appropriate history and/or examination and low complexity decision-making.
99215: Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of an established patient, which requires a medically appropriate history and/or examination and high complexity decision making.
99205: Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of a new patient, which requires a medically appropriate history and/or examination and moderate decision-making.
99216: Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of a new patient, which requires a medically appropriate history and/or examination and high complexity decision making.
99387: Initial inpatient consultation for the evaluation and management of a patient, which requires a medically appropriate history and/or examination and high complexity decision-making.
Learn more about CPT Codes
99386: Subsequent inpatient consultation for the evaluation and management of a patient, which requires a medically appropriate history and/or examination and high complexity decision-making.
99285: Emergency department visit for the evaluation and management of an established patient, which requires a medically appropriate history and/or examination and moderate decision-making.
99284: Emergency department visit for the evaluation and management of an established patient, which requires a medically appropriate history and/or examination and low complexity decision-making.
99283: Emergency department visit for the evaluation and management of a new patient, which requires a medically appropriate history and/or examination and moderate decision-making.
99282: Emergency department visit for the evaluation and management of a new patient, which requires a medically appropriate history and/or examination and low complexity decision-making.
Procedural
- 10021: Incision and drainage of abscess.
- 36415: Upper endoscopy with biopsy.
- 43235: Colonoscopy with biopsy.
- 44950: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal).
- 27447: Total knee replacement.
- 92502: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain without contrast.
- 81001: X-ray of the chest, posteroanterior (PA), and lateral views.
- 80053: Comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP).
- 82947: Complete blood count (CBC) with differential.
- 80048: Urinalysis.
- 58561: Electrocardiogram (EKG), 12-lead.
- 33210: Lumbar puncture.
Medical Decision Making (MDM)
- Low complexity
- Moderate complexity
- High complexity
Diagnosis
- A00.0: Cholera due to Vibrio cholerae 01.
- A00.1: Cholera due to Vibrio cholerae 0139.
- A00.9: Cholera due to unspecified Vibrio cholerae.
- A01.0: Typhoid fever.
- A01.1: Paratyphoid A.
- A01.2: Paratyphoid B.
- A01.3: Paratyphoid C.
- A01.4: Other paratyphoid fevers.
- A01.9: Paratyphoid fever, unspecified.
- A02.0: Salmonella infections other than typhoid and paratyphoid fevers.
- A02.1: Shigellosis.
- A02.2: Other salmonella infections.
- A02.9: Salmonella infection, unspecified.
Supplies And Devices
- A7000: Wheelchair, standard, non-adjustable.
- A7001: Wheelchair, standard, adjustable.
- A7002: Wheelchair, heavy-duty, non-adjustable.
- A7003: Wheelchair, heavy-duty, adjustable.
- K0056: Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine.
- E0601: Insulin pump.
- L3040: Blood glucose monitor.
- A9261: Hospital bed.
- E0446: Oxygen concentrator.
Key Code Updates For The Coming Year
After these already-used codes, AMA is all set to develop new codes to meet the changing health landscape, which will be introduced in 2024. A lot of considerations were made during this process, and the codes that are about to be implemented by January 1 are:
New codes for COVID-19 testing and treatment
The 2024 CPT code set includes new codes for COVID-19 vaccination and booster doses, as well as new codes for COVID-19 testing and treatment using new technologies, such as oral antiviral medications.
New codes for emerging technologies
The 2024 CPT code set also includes new codes for emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI)-powered medical devices and virtual reality (VR) therapy.
Revised codes for existing procedures
The 2024 CPT code set includes revised codes for many existing procedures to reflect changes in medical practice. For example, the codes for colonoscopy and upper endoscopy have been revised to include new technologies and techniques.
Here are some specific examples of new and revised CPT codes for 2024:
New codes:
90691: Administration of COVID-19 vaccine, booster dose
87637: Molecular pathology, quantitative real-time PCR assay for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), 1 or more genes, multiple specimens
96153: Virtual reality therapy for pain management, per 60 minutes
Revised codes:
44345: Colonoscopy, with or without collection of specimen(s) by brushing or washing; with multiple polypectomy, up to 4 polyps
32635: Upper endoscopy, with or without collection of specimen(s) by brushing or washing; with multiple polypectomy, up to 4 polyps
Unlocking The Code
Though this medical coding list is incomplete, it still can give you an idea what are the commonly used codes. For further codes, you can see code lookups or visit AMA to search for any code directly.
In 2023, when medical coding has become more advanced than ever, it is essential to grasp your hands on these codes. While you don’t have to learn all CPT codes, this grouping will help you find a code quickly.
However, the world of coding is complicated. But with consistency, you will become a master at this intricate world of medical billing and coding systems.