Sneak Peek: New CPT Codes May Affect Your Practice

2005 adds radiopharmaceutical therapy and DEXA scans
Ready or not, here they come. On Jan. 1, you may be adding two new codes to your flock.

While the official 2005 CPT codes have not yet been released, coding experts have obtained credible information on what the code changes will probably look like. While these codes aren't set in stone yet, they provide a helpful glimpse of what you can expect. CMS will post the official new codes on its Web site at the end of October.

If your endocrinology practice bills for DEXA scans or radiopharmaceutical therapy, you'll have these new codes to use:


76077 - Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), bone density study, one or more sites; vertebral fracture assessment


79005 - Radiopharmaceutical therapy, by oral administration

For 2005, CPT will also delete the following codes:


78990 - Provision of diagnostic radiopharmaceutical(s)


79000 - Radiopharmaceutical therapy, hyperthyroidism; initial, including evaluation of patient


79001 - ... subsequent, each therapy


79020 - Radiopharmaceutical therapy, thyroid suppression (euthyroid cardiac disease), including evaluation of patient


79030 - Radiopharmaceutical ablation of gland for thyroid carcinoma


79035 - Radiopharmaceutical therapy for metastases of thyroid carcinoma


79900 - Provision of therapeutic radiopharmaceutical(s).

Coding experts are still trying to uncover the American Medical Association's reason for both adding and deleting radiopharmaceutical therapy codes.

Editor's note: Stay tuned next month for more information on how to bill for radiopharmaceutical therapy in your office and how to apply the new codes.

- Published on 2004-10-19