Most Common CPT Codes: Know It All

Those seeking a career in medical coding must know about common CPT codes. These codes are extensively used by health practices to identify patient health services in a medical bill. With the help of these codes, insurance payers determine services taken by their clients, so that they can pay for them. This is an important part of revenue generation as it decides whether reimbursement will be made or not.

This dependency on reimbursement payment by the insurance company to the hospital has made it crucial to know commonly used codes. Any mistake in the code may lead to a claim denial, which in return, will damage your career reputation.

To help you excel in your career, we have collected the list of common CPT codes, that you will have to use during medical billing.

A Quick Overview Of CPT Codes

CPT is the acronym of Current Procedural Terminology and the term CPT codes signify code sets that are used by all health practices to report medical, diagnostic, and surgical procedures and services provided by physicians, non-clinical workers, laboratories, and outpatient facilities.  

CPT is under the control of the American Medical Association (AMA), which is also the inventor of these codes. There is a sort of editorial panel working under AMA. They are responsible for managing, revising, upgrading, and deletion of common CPT codes. This panel comprises 21 members, that collectively decide which new code to introduce and which one to delete altogether.

3 Categories Of CPT Codes

All codes are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority, after which it is associated with a certain health service. Common CPT codes are divided into 3 categories:

Category 1: This category contains codes that are used more than any other codes by health practices. This is the broadest group of all

Category 2: This category involves common CPT codes that are supplementary. These codes are used to track health practice performance and are not a must-part of a medical bill. That means a bill may be completed without using codes included in this category.

Category 3: This category includes those common CPT codes that are assigned to new or emerging health services. A code may remain in this category for up to 5 years, after which the pattern is examined by the FDA. If these codes show high application in the health sector, they are approved and sent to category 1. But if these codes show the least or rare usage, they are eliminated or deleted completely.

How CPT Codes Are Used In Medical Bills?

The medical billing process passes a number of procedures, from patient appointment booking to claim submission. But common CPT codes show its application only during bill creation.

The process begins when a patient books an appointment and the information is taken by the hospital staff. When he visits the hospital, personnel collects further personal and insurance details, after which the treatment starts. 

When the patient has taken all of the medical services and is discharged from a hospital, medical coders are required to list each health service taken and equipment used by the patient during the entire treatment, in a medical bill. Here common CPT codes play their part. These codes help identify a medical service, after analyzing which, the insurance payer will make reimbursement.

In a medical bill, 2 other types of codes along with common CPT codes are used, that specify the patient’s medical treatment as a whole:

• CPT Codes: It defines the medical services a patient received
• HCPCS Codes: What equipment was used during the treatment?
• ICD-10-CM: It explains the justification for the use of certain equipment and the reason of given medical services.

List Of Common CPT Codes

As you have studied what are the CPT codes and what it’s used for, here is a detailed list of the most common CPT codes.

00100-01999 Refers To Anesthesia

• 00100-00222 for Head Procedures
• 00300-00352 for Neck Procedures
• 00400-00474 for Thorax (Chest Wall and Shoulder Girdle) Procedures
• 00500-00580 for Intrathoracic Procedures
• 00600-00670 for Spine and Spinal Cord Procedures
• 00700-00797 for Upper Abdomen Procedures
• 00800-00882 for Lower Abdomen Procedures
• 00902-00952 for Perineum Procedures
• 01112-01173 for Pelvis (Except Hip) Procedures
• 01200-01274 for Upper Leg (Except Knee) Procedures
• 01320-01444 for Knee and Popliteal Area Procedures
• 01462-01522 for Lower Leg (Below Knee) Procedures
• 01610-01680 for Shoulder and Axilla Procedures
• 01710-01782 for Upper Arm and Elbow Procedures
• 01810-01860 for Forearm, Wrist, and Hand Procedures
• 01916-01942 for Radiological Procedures
• 01951-01953 for Burn Excisions or Debridement Procedures
• 01958-01969 for Obstetric Procedures
• 01990-01999 for Other Procedures

10004-69990 Refers To Surgery

• 10004-10021 for General Surgical Procedures
• 10030-19499 for Integumentary System Procedures
• 20100-29999 for Musculoskeletal System Procedures
• 30000-32999 for Respiratory System Procedures
• 33016-37799 for Cardiovascular System Procedures
• 38100-38999 for Hemic and Lymphatic Systems Procedures
• 39000-39599 for Mediastinum and Diaphragm Procedures
• 40490-49999 for Digestive System Procedures
• 50010-53899 for Urinary System Procedures
• 54000-55899 for Male Genital System Procedures
• 55920-55920 for Reproductive System Procedures
• 55970-55980 for Intersex Surgery Procedures
• 56405-58999 for Female Genital System Procedures
• 59000-59899 for Maternity Care and Delivery Procedures
• 60000-60699 for Endocrine System Procedures
• 61000-64999 for Nervous System Procedures
• 65091-68899 for Eye and Ocular Adnexa Procedures
• 69000-69979 for Auditory System Procedures
• 69990-69990 for Operating Microscope Procedures

70010-79999 Refers To Radiology Procedures

• 70010-76499 for Diagnostic Radiology (Diagnostic Imaging) Procedures
• 76506-76999 for Diagnostic Ultrasound Procedures
• 77001-77022 for Radiologic Guidance
• 77046-77067 for Breast, Mammography
• 77071-77092 for Bone/Joint Studies
• 77261-77799 for Radiation Oncology Treatment
• 78012-79999 for Nuclear Medicine Procedures

80047-89398 Refers To Pathology And Laboratory Procedures

• 80047-80081 for Organ or Disease Oriented Panels
• 80143-80377 for Therapeutic Drug Assays
• 80305-80377 for Drug Assay Procedures
• 80400-80439 for Evocative/Suppression Testing Procedures
• 80503-80506 for Clinical Pathology Consultations
• 81000-81099 for Urinalysis Procedures
• 81105-81479 for Molecular Pathology Procedures
• 81410-81471 for Genomic Sequencing Procedures and Other Molecular Multianalyte Assays
• 81490-81599 for Multianalyte Assays with Algorithmic Analyses
• 82009-84999 for Chemistry Procedures
• 85002-85999 for Hematology and Coagulation Procedures
• 86000-86849 for Immunology Procedures
• 86850-86999 for Transfusion Medicine Procedures
• 87003-87999 for Microbiology Procedures
• 88000-88099 for Anatomic Pathology Procedures
• 88104-88199 for Cytopathology Procedures
• 88230-88299 for Cytogenetic Studies
• 88300-88399 for Surgical Pathology Procedures
• 88720-88749 for In Vivo (eg, Transcutaneous) Laboratory Procedures
• 89049-89240 for Other Pathology and Laboratory Procedures
• 89250-89398 for Reproductive Medicine Procedures

90281-99607 Refers To Medicine Services And Procedures 

• 90281-90399 for Immune Globulins, Serum, or Recombinant Products
• 90460-0174A for Immunization Administration for Vaccines/Toxoids
• 90476-90759 for Vaccines, Toxoids
• 90785-90899 for Psychiatry Services and Procedures
• 90901-90913 for Biofeedback Services and Procedures
• 90935-90999 for Dialysis Services and Procedures
• 91010-91315 for Gastroenterology Procedures
• 92002-92499 for Ophthalmology Services and Procedures
• 92502-92700 for Special Otorhinolaryngologic Services and Procedures
• 92920-93799 for Cardiovascular Procedures
• 93880-93998 for Non-Invasive Vascular Diagnostic Studies
• 94002-94799 for Pulmonary Procedures
• 95004-95199 for Allergy and Clinical Immunology Procedures
• 95249-95251 for Endocrinology Services
• 95700-96020 for Neurology and Neuromuscular Procedures
• 96040-96040 for Medical Genetics and Genetic Counseling Services
• 96105-96146 for Central Nervous System Assessments/Tests (eg, Neuro-Cognitive, Mental Status, Speech Testing)
• 96156-96171 for Health Behavior Assessment and Intervention Procedures
• 96202-96203 Behavior Management Services

Click here to see more medicine services common CPT codes

99091-99499 Refers To Evaluation And Management

• 99202-99215 for Office or Other Outpatient Services
• 99221-99239 for Hospital Inpatient Services
• 99242-99255 for Consultation Services
• 99281-99288 for Emergency Department Services
• 99291-99292 for Critical Care Services
• 99304-99316 for Nursing Facility Services
• 99341-99350 for Home Services
• 99358-99418 for Prolonged Services
• 99366-99368 for Case Management Services
• 99374-99380 for Care Plan Oversight Services
• 99381-9942 for Preventive Medicine Services
• 99437-99458 for Non-Face-to-Face Evaluation and Management Services
• 99450-99458 for Special Evaluation and Management Services
• 99460-99463 for Newborn Care Services
• 99464-99465 for Delivery/Birthing Room Attendance and Resuscitation Services
• 99466-99480 for Inpatient Neonatal Intensive Care Services and Pediatric and Neonatal Critical Care Services

Click here to see more health evaluation common CPT codes

0001F-9007F Refers To Category II Codes

• 0001F-0015F for Composite Measures
• 0500F-0584F for Patient Management
• 1000F-1505F for Patient History
• 2000F-2060F for Physical Examination
• 3006F-3776F for Diagnostic/Screening Processes or Results
• 4000F-4563F for Therapeutic, Preventive or Other Interventions
• 5005F-5250F for Follow-up or Other Outcomes
• 6005F-6150F for Patient Safety
• 7010F-7025F for Structural Measures
• 9001F-9007F for Non-Measure Category II Codes

0002M-0018M Refers To Multianalyte Assay

• 0002M
• 0003M
• 0004M
• 0006M
• 0007M
• 0011M
• 0012M
• 0013M
• 0014M
• 0015M
• 0016M
• 0017M
• 0018M

0042T-0783T Refers To Category III Codes

• 0042T-0232T for Various Services – Category III Codes
• 0234T-0308T for Atherectomy (Open or Percutaneous) for Supra-Inguinal Arteries and Other Undefined Category Codes
• 0329T-0358T for Imaging, Testing, Implantation, and Other Services
• 0362T-0373T for Adaptive Behavior Assessments
• 0378T-0379T for Other Procedures and Assessments
• 0394T-0422T for Pacemaker – Leadless and Pocketless System
• 0424T-0465T for Phrenic Nerve Stimulation System Procedures
• 0469T-0474T for Imaging, Evaluation, Programming, and Recording Procedures
• 0479T-0480T for Laser Ablation Procedures
• 0481T-0481T for Blood Products Transfusion Procedure
• 0483T-0484T for Cardiac Diagnostic Imaging and Surgical Procedures
• 0485T-0486T for Diagnostic Procedures
• 0488T-0488T for Behavior Analysis
• 0489T-0490T for Cellular Regeneration, Evaluation Study, and Ablation Procedures
• 0494T-0496T for Organ Transplantation Procedures
• 0499T-0499T for Cystourethroscopy with Therapeutic Drug Delivery Procedure
• 0500T-0500T for Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Analysis
• 0501T-0504T for Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) Analysis
• 0505T-0508T for Other Diagnostic and Therapeutic Procedures
• 0509T-0513T for Vision Studies, Implants, and Therapies

Click here to see more category III common CPT codes

0001U-0386U Refers To Proprietary Laboratory Analysis

• 0001U
• 0002U
• 0003U
• 0005U
• 0007U
• 0008U
• 0009U
• 0010U
• 0011U
• 0016U
• 0017U
• 0018U
• 0019U
• 0021U
• 0022U
• 0023U
• 0024U
• 0025U
• 0026U

Click here to see more proprietary common CPT codes

Conclusion

With the help of above mentioned common CPT codes ranges with the entire list of codes, you are now able to recognize any service for medical billing.