Pathology and Laboratory Changes (April 2008)

Why This Topic Matters

Understanding these CPT updates helps coding and billing professionals stay aligned with annual changes that affect laboratory test reporting, code structure, and related guidance. This is especially important for organizations that perform pathology and laboratory services and need to maintain accurate, current coding workflows.

Article Sections

1. April 2008 pages 5-7

   Introductory publication information and a brief overview of the scope of CPT 2008 pathology and laboratory changes. It frames the article as a summary of new, revised, and clarified content across multiple laboratory specialties.

2. Organ or Disease-Oriented Panels

   Updates related to laboratory panel reporting and related parenthetical guidance. The section discusses changes involving chemistry panel structure and associated reporting relationships.

3. Chemistry

   Revisions and additions affecting chemistry-related laboratory testing. The section covers changes to existing test reporting, newly established assay codes, and supporting notes.

4. Immunology

   Updates in immunology testing that include new code development, revised reporting language, deleted content, and related parenthetical notes. It also introduces a new modifier in the context of laboratory platform testing.

5. Modifier 92: Alternative Laboratory Platform Testing

   A focused discussion of the new modifier added in CPT 2008 for a specific laboratory testing setup. The section explains the general reporting context and includes an illustrative rapid testing scenario.

6. Transfusion Medicine

   Revisions to transfusion medicine laboratory testing and supporting notes. The section addresses updates to serologic testing terminology and related reporting references.

7. Microbiology

   Microbiology code changes involving newly established testing services and related explanatory material. The section also includes a brief example of how one of the services may be used in practice.

8. Surgical Pathology

   Changes in surgical pathology reporting related to microdissection services. The section distinguishes between separate methodologies and notes related molecular diagnostic reporting considerations.

9. Reproductive Medicine Procedures

   Updates to semen analysis and related reproductive medicine laboratory reporting. The section describes restructuring within the code family and additional guidance for urine-based sperm evaluation.