Primary Care Coding Alert

Question: I noticed some of the codes in the 2010 CPT manual have a # mark next to them. What does that mark mean?

Texas Subscriber

Answer: The pound symbol (#) or hash mark is a new marking in the 2010 CPT manuals that says a code is out of order. The AMA decided to add a # designation rather than moving groups of codes to new sections and completely renumbering existing codes. "Resequencing makes a lot of sense to avoid renumbering the codes," explained William T. Thorwarth Jr., MD, in "CPT 2010 Overview" at the CPT and RBRVS 2010 Annual Symposium's opening session in Chicago.

The AMA also has a new method of relocating an existing out-of-order code. Rather than deleting the code and creating a new number, the AMA will move the code to its more appropriate location and leave a note for  you. "Where you would expect the code to be, we added references referring to the code's new place," Peter A. Hollmann, MD, said in the symposium's final session of the day: "CPT 2010 Resequencing Principles."

-- Information for and answers to You Be the Coder and Reader Questions reviewed by Kent Moore, manager of health care financing and delivery systems for the American Academy of Family Physicians in Leawood, Kan.