Revenue Cycle Insider

Question: Will the 2026 CPT^® code book include any more codes that use artificial intelligence (AI)?

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Answer: Yes, the 2026 CPT^® code book includes several new codes that use AI as a tool for physicians.

Under the Radiology section of the code book, you’ll find 75577 (Quantification and characterization of coronary atherosclerotic plaque to assess severity of coronary disease, derived from augmentative software analysis of the data set from a coronary computed tomographic angiography, with interpretation and report by a physician or other qualified health care professional). This code features “augmentative software analysis” in the code descriptor, which is another way of describing AI.

Under the Category III codes are the following new codes that use AI to analyze perivascular fat with or without heart CT scans to assess the patient’s cardiac risk:

• 0992T (Noninvasive assessment of cardiac risk derived from augmentative software analysis of perivascular fat without concurrent computed tomography (CT) scan of the heart, including patient-specific clinical factors, with interpretation and report by a physician or other qualified health care professional)
• +0993T (Noninvasive assessment of cardiac risk derived from augmentative software analysis of perivascular fat with concurrent computed tomography scan of the heart, including patient-specific clinical factors, with interpretation and report by a physician or other qualified health care professional (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure))

The AMA defines AI as either assistive, augmentative, or autonomous in regard to medical services and procedures. According to Appendix S of the CPT^® code book, “The work performed by the machine for the physician or other QHP is augmentative when the machine analyzes and/or quantifies data to yield clinically meaningful output.” The physician or another qualified healthcare professional must still perform the interpretation and write the report.

Mike Shaughnessy, BA, CPC, Production Editor, AAPC