The American Medical Association is working to approve a current procedural terminology (CPT) code for COVID-19 testing. In addition to creating a way for physicians to bill for testing, it would also help better track tests offered by hospital, health systems, and laboratories.
The AMA said on Tuesday that it would fast-track its efforts to develop a new CPT code for the tests at a meeting this week.
“Moving as quickly as possible to put in place a CPT code for a novel coronavirus test will bolster a data-driven response to the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States,” AMA President Dr. Patrice Harris said in a news release. “By streamlining the flow of information on novel coronavirus testing, a new CPT code facilitates the reporting, measuring, analyzing, researching, and benchmarking that is necessary to help guide the nation’s response to the public health emergency.”
The new code will be created by the CPT Editorial Panel, an independent body given the authority to manage revisions to the CPT code set. The AMA also said it had been working closely with leaders at the Centers for Disease Control and other healthcare experts in the community.
Other agencies have also hurried to create new codes for the virus, which had spread to more than 100 countries as of Thursday. The World Health Organization announced an emergency ICD-10 code for the novel coronavirus in January. Physicians will be able to bill using that code after the next ICD-10 update on October 1, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released its own set of HCPCS codes for COVID-19 lab tests in February. The agency updated the codes on Thursday to also allow laboratories to bill for non-CDC tests, as more private companies begin developing their own.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Photo credit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
