CPT Codes (Current Procedural Terminology)


CPT is a registered trademark of the American Medical Association (AMA). The AMA develops and maintains CPT code set through the CPT Editorial Panel.

CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) codes are five-digit (alphanumeric) numbers assigned to various tasks and services a medical practitioner (physician or non-physician) may provide to a patient including medical, surgical and diagnostic services. These codes are used by insurers to determine the amount of reimbursement that a practitioner will receive by an insurer for performing a specific service. Each CPT code ensures uniform meaning among physicians, coders, patients, accreditation organizations, and payers for administrative, financial, and analytical purposes.

There are three types of CPT codes:

  • Category I CPT Code(s)
  • Category II CPT Code(s) – Performance Measurement
  • Category III CPT Code(s) – Emerging Technology
Every year, on 1st January the annual CPT book is published. As the practice of health care keeps on changing with time, new CPT codes are developed for new services, current codes may be revised, and old, unused codes are discarded. Thousands of CPT codes are in use, and they are updated annually.

CPT describes almost every possible existing medical services provided by a physician with a unique code. For example, an Evaluation and Management service can be indicated with a code 99215, a radiology procedure by code 71010, a cardiology surgical procedure by using code 33510 and so on.

Payment or reimbursement by an insurer or payer to a physician depends primarily upon CPT codes. Apart from CPT codes, the other payment factors are RVUs (Relative Value Unit), Conversion Factor, geographical locations etc. that directly affect the payment amount.