AMA CPT® Assistant - 1995 Issue 4 (Winter)
CPT 1996 Code Update (Winter 1995)
Winter 1995 pages 1-28 CPT 1996 Code Update The CPT Editorial Panel, at their quarterly Panel meetings, evaluated recommendations to establish, delete, and revise CPT codes. In an effort to meet the needs of our subscribers, this year the Code Update will include a comprehensive list of the revisions and a brief explanation for each revision. Those sections of CPT 1996 that were significantly revised, will be detailed in upcoming issues of CPT Assistant. Assignment of a CPT code to a service or procedure does not imply endorsement by the American Medical Association (AMA) of any particular diagnostic or...
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Article Overview
This article summarizes the CPT 1996 code update published in winter 1995. It reviews revised, deleted, and newly added CPT content across multiple sections such as surgery, radiology, pathology and laboratory, medicine, psychiatry, neurology, ophthalmology, and evaluation and management. The update is useful for coders, billers, and compliance staff who need to understand the scope of annual CPT changes and the associated guidance and cross-references.
Why This Topic Matters
Annual CPT updates affect documentation, code selection, and reporting consistency across many specialties. This article helps readers identify which areas of the code set changed and where follow-up reading is needed for full coding details.
Article Sections
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Winter 1995 pages 1-28
Opening material introducing the 1996 CPT update and explaining how revisions, deletions, and new entries are presented.
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Anesthesia
Updates to anesthesia coding guidance and code revisions related to selected thoracic and abdominal procedures.
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Surgery: Integumentary System
Changes involving wound exploration references and repair guidelines within the integumentary surgery section.
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Surgery: Musculoskeletal System
Extensive revisions in musculoskeletal coding, including trauma-related wound exploration, grafting, head and spine procedures, fractures, arthrodesis, instrumentation, casts, and select lower-extremity surgery.
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Surgery: Respiratory System
Revisions to respiratory surgery coding, including airway procedures, lung resection-related coding, and trauma-related cross-references.
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Surgery: Cardiovascular System
Cardiovascular code updates addressing pacemaker and defibrillator guidance, arrhythmia procedures, coronary bypass reporting, pulmonary artery shunt takedown, and vascular injection references.
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Surgery: Hemic and Lymphatic Systems
Changes to bone marrow and stem cell transplantation services, including related cross-references and descriptor revisions.
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Surgery: Digestive System
Digestive system revisions covering hepatobiliary surgery, ERCP-related references, and selected abdominal procedures.
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Surgery: Male Genital System
Male genital system updates related to prostate treatment procedures and associated guidance references.
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Surgery: Laparoscopy/Peritoneoscopy/Hysteroscopy
Laparoscopic gynecologic coding changes involving tubal procedures and related reporting guidance.
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Surgery: Female Genital System
Female genital system revisions involving pelvic floor repair, endometrial sampling, assisted reproduction, and related cross-references.
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Surgery: Maternity Care and Delivery
New and revised maternity care codes and guidance for deliveries after previous cesarean delivery.
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Surgery: Nervous System
Nervous system updates covering catheter and pump implantation, neurophysiology testing, nerve conduction studies, and related renumbering.
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Surgery: Eye and Ocular Adnexa
Ophthalmic surgery revisions involving retinal detachment repair and eyelid or ocular surface procedures.
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Radiology
Radiology updates including imaging guidance, simulation, PET-related additions, and deleted study references.
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Pathology and Laboratory
Laboratory code revisions covering chemistry panels, endocrine panels, urinalysis, allergy testing, and reproductive laboratory services.
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Medicine
Medicine section changes spanning immunization, psychiatry, dialysis, ophthalmology, audiology, neurology, physical medicine, cardiology, allergy/immunology, and evaluation and management topics.
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Evaluation and Management
Hospital discharge, critical care, neonatal intensive care, newborn care, and general E/M guideline revisions.
What You Will Learn
- Which CPT sections were revised for the 1996 update
- How the article organizes new, revised, and deleted codes
- What categories of specialty guidance were affected
- Where cross-references and add-on code guidance were updated
- Which broad clinical service areas received new or changed coding instructions
Who Should Read This
- Professional medical coders
- Billing staff
- Compliance and audit teams
- Physician practice managers
- Clinical documentation specialists
Codes Discussed
Code Ranges Discussed
Modifiers Discussed
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