CPT & RBRVS 2008 Annual Symposium: Reimbursement for E/Ms and modifier 51 loom large in CPT update

Why This Topic Matters

It helps readers quickly assess which 2008 CPT changes affect their specialty or workflow and how payer coverage and modifier changes may influence reporting and reimbursement.

Article Sections

1. Overview of CPT 2008 changes

   A high-level summary of the scope of CPT 2008 updates discussed at the symposium. Covers the major themes affecting multiple specialties and code categories.

2. Category II codes

   Discussion of quality-measurement coding updates and their growing role in reporting programs. Includes general symposium context and update frequency.

3. Evaluation and Management

   Coverage of E/M updates discussed at the symposium, including new and revised code families and related payer considerations. Also addresses broader reimbursement status issues affecting this section.

4. Anesthesia

   Summary of anesthesia section updates in CPT 2008. Focuses on newly added, revised, and renumbered anesthesia-related code families.

5. Integumentary

   Review of selected skin and soft tissue coding updates. Includes revisions and guideline clarifications within this section.

6. Musculoskeletal

   Extensive overview of surgery-section changes affecting musculoskeletal procedures. Covers new, revised, deleted, and add-on code developments discussed at the symposium.

7. Respiratory

   Summary of respiratory system code updates and renumberings. Also notes changes tied to modifier status and descriptor wording.

8. Cardiovascular

   Discussion of cardiovascular procedure updates across bypass, vascular, and catheter-related services. Includes new add-on codes, deletions, revisions, and renumberings.

9. Hemic/Lymphatic

   Brief coverage of the limited changes in the hemic and lymphatic section. Focuses on the single revised code mentioned in the article.

10. Mediastinum/Diaphragm

    Statement of the absence of changes in this section for CPT 2008. Serves as a stop for readers looking for thoracic-related updates.

11. Digestive

    Overview of digestive system changes including feeding access procedures, laparoscopic/open surgery updates, deletions, and revised descriptors. Also notes add-on and size-specific code changes.

12. Urinary

    Summary of urinary system additions, deletions, renumberings, and revisions. Covers stents, pressure studies, and prostate-related coding updates.

13. Male genital

    Brief note that no coding changes were made in this section. Included for completeness within the article’s specialty-by-specialty review.

14. Reproductive system procedures

    Introduces a new section containing a procedure category related to interstitial radioelement application. Notes the organ-area scope and cross-references described in the article.

15. Intersex surgery

    Brief note that no coding changes were made in this section. Included as part of the article’s complete system-by-system summary.

16. Female genital and Maternity/delivery

    Summary of gynecologic and maternity-related code updates, including revised repair approaches and new laparoscopic hysterectomy codes. Also mentions documentation emphasis highlighted in the article.

17. Endocrine

    Short overview of endocrine coding changes for CPT 2008. Focuses on the renumbering of a thyroid-related code.

18. Nervous

    Summary of nervous system revisions, including modifier-status changes and descriptor adjustments. Covers the limited scope of updates in this section.

19. Eye and Ocular adnexa

    Overview of ophthalmic code changes, including new and revised retinal and vitreoretinal procedure families. Also includes retinopathy-related updates discussed at the symposium.

20. Auditory

    Brief note that no coding changes were made in the auditory section. Included for completeness in the section-by-section review.

21. Radiology

    Discussion of radiology code revisions, deletions, and additions across vascular imaging, MRI, brain imaging, PET, and other studies. Also covers descriptor clarifications noted at the symposium.

22. Pathology/Laboratory

    Summary of laboratory and pathology updates, including panel revisions and testing descriptor changes. Notes the broader set of new and revised codes in this section.

23. Medicine

    Overview of medicine-section updates affecting infusion, testing, therapy management, and other services. Includes broad discussion of revisions related to modifier status and new code families.

24. Category III

    Final section summarizing temporary Category III code activity for CPT 2008. Notes the presence of new, deleted, and revised emerging-technology codes.