Introduction
The Current Procedural Terminologies are what is abbreviated as CPT. These procedures describe the medical, diagnostic, and surgical services that are available for the patient in the US. They are used by physicians, medics, medical coders, accreditation institutions, and also patients for financial and medical analysis of an organization that provides the service. Medical scholars argue that CPT is a twin to ICD-9 and ICD-10. However, the only difference between CPT and the other two systems is that CPT is used to assess the service that provided by an institution as opposed to the diagnosis of the problem. The CPT was developed by the American Medical Association and is recognized by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to be the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System.
CPT Top Ten Codes
CPT is dividing into categories I, II, and III. However, in this discussion, we will only describe the basic categories types of CPT. There are as follows:
Code 97110: this code is the Code of Therapeutic exercises to develop strength and endurance. They help the medics I assist the patient in weighing their emotions when under pressure and also assist then in becoming flexible and adaptable to situations (Goodney, Beck, Nagle, Welch, & Zwolak, 2009).
Code 97112: this code has instructions on neuromuscular re-education of movement, balance, and coordination. It provides more information on kinesthetic sense and posture. For instance, it tells the patient or the physician on the healthy way in which an individual should stand. Such instruction is said to be suitable for ensuring proper blood flow in the vessels (Medical Billing and Coding Organization, 2017).
Codes 99217–99220- Hospital Observation Codes: these are medical observation which aims at ensuring that there is progressive and continuing healthcare for individual patients for a period ranging from six to twenty-four hours. These codes help the observer and the medical provider to determine if a given patient is in need of inpatient admission or whether a patient can be discouraged. Under this code, a patient may be in a hospital but is not admitted as an inpatient. This tradition is not new to the U.S healthcare system. The consequence of this kind of practice is that it leads to huge bills which prove difficult for most people to pay. As a result, the Hospital Observation Codes were developed to mitigate this challenge (Medical Billing and Coding Organization, 2017).
The other codes are the Codes of Surgery (Code 10040-19499). These codes address matters relating to the integumentary system which is the skin. The skin is responsible for protecting the body from excessive water loss which may lead to dehydration. It is made up of the hairs, scales, and even nails. The skin is the body’s first defense against infections and other issues that may affect the body’s homeostasis. The functions include: protecting internal living tissues and organs. Preventing dehydration as mentioned above, and it is also an excretory organ. The process by which the skin excretes waste is known as perspiration. Furthermore, the skin is parked with numerous cells that detect things like touch, pain, heat, and pressure. Due to this ability, the surface is said to be a sensory organ. It is also a store of things like fats water, glucose, and vitamin D (Goodney, Beck, Nagle, Welch, & Zwolak, 2009). Most importantly, the skin protects the body from Ultra-Violet Rays which are emitted by the sun.
Code 97001-97799 which are the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Codes. The Best example of such a code is Code 97535 which is used by patients for self and home management training. It talks about the daily activities and routines that that are advisable for people to engage in if they want to stay healthy (Goodney, Beck, Nagle, Welch, & Zwolak, 2009) It also address matters like compensatory training, home and self-safety procedures and the preparation of balanced diet or healthy food. Its scope is not only limited to these functions but also extends to matters like instruction on how to use assisted technology, especially in medication. The primary concern of these codes is to ensure that a patient gets well so that they can carry on with their lives without the limitation that might be caused by an ailment. It emphasizes the need for patients to live healthy, even though he or she may have undergone so impairment that cannot be fully restored. To ensure that medics are equipped with the required skill, the U.S medical training program provides for a four-year course (American Academy of Ophthalmology, 2017).
Category II Code provide additional information on Category I codes. They are used to provide information on the performance of management matters and future care for patients. Some of them are:
Composite Codes: they provide data on procedures undertaken alongside the primary method. For instance, a doctor will need to check the weight, height, and age of a patient. 0001F heart failure check will be accompanied by assessing the level of activity, blood pressure, and clinical symptoms of volume overload (Medical Billing and Coding Organization, 2017).
Patient History Codes explain the recorded measurements of a certain element of a patient’s medical history or signs and symptoms of a particular illness associated with a patient. An example of such a code is the assessment Code 1030F: Pneumococcus immunization.
Thirdly, there is the Patient Safety Code. This system describes the precautions that a medic is supposed to put into consideration when handling patients so as to avoid endangering the life f a patient (Goodney, Beck, Nagle, Welch, & Zwolak, 2009).
The procedure will prescribe what a patient is can do and what is not allowed to be done, by or to the patient. Failure to provide such information is considered putting the life of a patient at risk, and it can have severe consequences for the doctor.
Category III codes are denoted by letter T which differentiates them from Category II codes that must be followed by F. they ensure more specificity in coding and provide allow tracking of emerging medical issues (Medical Billing and Coding Organization, 2017).