AMA CPT® Assistant - 1997 Issue 11 (November)
Review of the 1998 CPT Coding Changes (November 1997)
November 1997 page 1-end Review of the 1998 CPT Coding Changes It's that time of the year once again. Time to start thinking about Thanksgiving and your holiday shopping list. And as always, along with the holidays, November also brings the new CPT coding changes. As you can see, this issue is greatly expanded to give you a complete review of the code and guideline changes, and a rationale for each of the changes. New codes appear with a symbol, revised codes with the symbol, and new/revised text appears in bold, italics type. We hope this issue gives you...
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Article Overview
This article reviews the 1998 CPT code and guideline changes published in November 1997. It is useful for coders, billers, and compliance staff who need to understand the scope of revised CPT section guidance, newly added codes, deleted codes, cross-references, and selected modifier and subsection updates across multiple specialties.
Why This Topic Matters
The article helps readers identify where CPT 1998 changed reporting structure and section guidance, especially in high-use service categories. It is relevant for anyone comparing prior-year CPT reporting to the 1998 code set or tracking how new and revised instructions were organized across specialties.
Article Sections
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Review of the Changes
Introduces the major CPT 1998 changes and explains the broad areas of revision covered in the article. Summarizes the overall scope of updated guidelines and code additions across service categories.
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Evaluation and Management
Covers updates to E/M guidelines and code groupings across office, observation, inpatient, discharge, emergency, neonatal, nursing facility, home, standby, care plan oversight, and newborn services. Includes revised subsection guidance and cross-references.
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Anesthesia
Summarizes anesthesia guideline revisions and selected code updates. Also notes related cross-references and modifier guidance within this section.
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Surgery
Reviews broad surgery guideline changes and multiple subsection revisions. Includes updates affecting integumentary, musculoskeletal, respiratory, digestive, urinary, female genital, maternity, nervous system, and eye/ocular adnexa services.
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Radiology
Covers changes to radiology separate-procedure guidance, subsection information, and selected diagnostic imaging and ultrasound updates. Also includes nuclear medicine and treatment-planning revisions.
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Pathology and Laboratory
Describes guideline revisions and subsection organization updates for pathology and laboratory reporting. Includes panel changes, therapeutic drug assays, chemistry, immunology, and microbiology reorganization.
What You Will Learn
- How the article organizes the 1998 CPT changes by section and subsection
- Which areas of CPT received new, revised, or deleted guidance
- How the article frames cross-references between related CPT services
- Which specialties and service categories were emphasized in the 1998 update
- How the article presents code-set organization changes for laboratory and microbiology reporting
Who Should Read This
- Medical coders
- Coding educators
- Billing and reimbursement staff
- Compliance professionals
- Physician practice administrators
- Health information management professionals
Codes Discussed
Code Ranges Discussed
Modifiers Discussed
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