Review, Revise, Resolve – A look at the 2024 updates for CPT

Vaccine CPT codes

The war on respiratory viruses is still being fought and big changes in vaccines show us that. As ten new vaccine codes for COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are approved for 2024, over 50 previous codes were consolidated to streamline reporting.   Five new monovalent vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna for COVID-19 get approval from the CPT Editorial Panel with provisional codes (91318-91322) that will be effective for use once approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is granted.  New vaccine administration code (90480) was approved for reporting administration of any COVID-19 vaccine for any patient. Product-specific innovation for the prevention of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has warranted the addition of 5 new codes (90380-90381, 90678-90679, and 90683).

Evaluation and management (E/M) CPT codes

Medical code standardization and normalization is at the heart of what we do here at Wolters Kluwer, Health Language. The concept of "review, revise, and resolve" is embodied in what we do every day but it seems that the standard bodies are also starting to embrace that philosophy. We see that with the overhaul of the Evaluation and Management (E/M) codes.  As outlined in the Medicare’s 2023 Final Rule, revisions will be made to standardize the E/M sections to decrease providers’ administrative burden of documentation.

Here are some changes:

• Time ranges were removed from office or other outpatient visit codes 99202-99205, 99212-99215.
• New E/M subsection with new guidelines for split or shared services to define “substantive portion” related to physician/nonphysician collaborative work.
• Instructions for reporting hospital inpatient or observation services (including admission and discharge services) were added for use of codes 99234-99236 when the duration of a visit stretches over two calendar dates.

Keeping up with CPT changes

If 2023 was focused around "review, revise, and resolve", we believe 2024 should be focused on adding the word, revitalize! The rate at which medical technology changes is as mind boggling as it is exciting.  With that comes a huge administrative burden of updating coding information in real time when that change happens.  CPT is the most prolific content set on the market today, with changes and updates happening monthly, sometimes even weekly, which can be overwhelming in the best of scenarios.  The experts and solutions at Health Language are here to help you review, revise, resolve and revitalize. Contact us today and let us show you how!