CPT coding changes for 2021 went into effect Jan. 1., according to a Jan. 4 blog post from Anesthesia Business Consultants.
Four changes to know:
1. The 2021 CPT edition has 206 new codes, 69 revised codes and 54 deleted codes. Most don't affect anesthesia, but there are changes for office and outpatient evaluation and management visits.
2. Most of the CPT changes involved codes from the surgery, pathology/laboratory and category 3 sections of the manual.
3. The 2021 edition deletes codes for transforaminal injections under ultrasound guidance in the pain management section. Transforaminal injections with ultrasound guidance are now reported as unlisted code 64999.
4. Evaluation and management coding includes changes to how outpatient visits are labeled.
Read full details about the changes here.