Overview of the 2022 CPT Code Update | Annexmed

The American Medical Association (AMA) has made CPT code update 2022. It contains 405 code changes, which include 249 new codes, 63 deletions, and 93 code revisions, which would be effective with the date of service on January 1, 2022. We’ll focus mainly on new codes, so be sure to check each section’s specific CPT guidelines and notes that are included for coding guidance.

Below is a snapshot of the CY 2022 CPT code Update Summary:

Evaluation and Management Section: 

There are five new codes and ten revised codes in the Evaluation and Management section. Four new CPT codes have been added to report Principal care management services (99424, +99425, 99426, +99427). Principal care management services are disease-specific management services. A patient may have multiple chronic conditions of sufficient severity to warrant complex chronic care management but may receive principal care management if the reporting physician or other qualified health care professional is providing single disease rather than comprehensive care management.

One new CPT code (+99437) has been added to report each additional 30 minutes of chronic care management services by a physician or other qualified health care professional per calendar month. It should be reported in conjunction with 99491.

Anesthesia Section

There are six new codes and two deleted codes in the anesthesia section. The new codes replaced 01935 and 01936. The new codes (01937 to 01941) describe the anesthesia services for percutaneous image-guided injection, drainage, or aspiration procedures/destruction procedures by neurolytic agents/neuromodulation or intravertebral procedures on the spine or spinal cord at the cervical to sacral levels.

Surgery Section

There are 30 new codes, 13 deleted codes, and 25 revised codes in the Surgery section. The guidelines for simple repair have been revised to provide more clarity, and a definition for “foreign body/implant” has been added. Updated definitions for fracture procedures at the beginning of the section, such as manipulation, traction, and percutaneous skeletal fixation, are provided. Closed treatment has been revised to indicate that casting, splinting, or strapping used solely to temporarily stabilize the fracture for patient comfort is not considered closed treatment.

Eight new codes have been added in the cardiovascular system section. CPT 33267, +33268, and 33269 have been added to describe left atrial appendage (LAA) exclusion procedures. The Surgical LAA exclusion procedure can be done as a standalone procedure via an open or thoracoscopic approach. It is also done in conjunction with other procedures requiring a sternotomy or thoracotomy approach. CPT 33509 has been added to describe the endoscopic harvest of an upper extremity artery (1 segment) for the CABG procedure. Cpt 33894 and 33895 have been added to describe the endoscopic stent repair of coarctation of the aorta. CPT 33897 has been added to describe the percutaneous angioplasty procedure for coarctation of the aorta. Add-on code 33370 has been added for transcatheter placement and subsequent removal of cerebral embolic protection devices (s).

Two new codes are added in the digestive system to describe the drug-induced sleep endoscopy for evaluation of sleep disordered breathing and for lower esophageal myotomy. Four new codes are added in the urinary system to describe the insertion and removal of periurethral transperineal adjustable balloon continence devices.

Sixteen new codes are added to the nervous system. CPT 61736 and 61736 are added to describe laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) for simple or complex intracranial lesions. CPT 64582 to 64584 has been added to describe the implantation/revision or replacement/removal of hypoglossal nerve stimulators. CPT 66989 and 66991 have been added to describe the insertion of an intraocular anterior segment aqueous drainage device into the trabecular meshwork when performed with cataract removal with an IOL implant. CPT 64628 and 64629 are added to describe the thermal destruction of the intraosseous basivertebral nerve and it is reported based on the number of vertebral bodies at the lumbar or sacral level. Add-on codes 63052 and 63053 were added to describe the laminectomy procedures performed for spinal or lateral recess stenosis during posterior interbody arthrodesis at lumbar level. CPT 68841 should be used for the insertion of a drug-eluting implant into the lacrimal canaliculus. Four new codes (69716, 69719, 69726, and 69727) have been added in the osseointegrated implants section.

Surgery Section

Four new codes (77089 to 77092) have been added to describe the trabecular bone score (TBS), the structural condition of the bone microarchitecture, using dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) or other imaging data on gray-scale variogram to calculate and report the fracture risk. CPT 77089 shouldn’t be reported in conjunction with 77090, 77091, or 77092.

Pathology and Laboratory Section

There are 96 new codes, 8 deleted codes, and 46 revised codes in the Pathology and Laboratory section.

Pathology clinical consultation service codes (80503, 80504, 80505, and +80506) describe physician pathology clinical consultation services provided at the request of another physician or other qualified health care professional at the same or another facility or institution. Selection of the appropriate level of pathology clinical consultation services may be based on either the total time for pathology clinical consultation services performed on the date of consultation or the level of MDM as defined for each service. Also, many new codes are added under the Proprietary Laboratory Analyses subsection. The PLA codes describe proprietary clinical laboratory analyses and can be either provided by a single (“sole-source”) laboratory or licensed or marketed to multiple providing laboratories (e.g., cleared or approved by the Food and Drug Administration [FDA]).

Medicine Section

There are 36 new codes, 11 deleted codes, and 4 revised codes in the Medicine section. Many codes for intramuscular COVID-19 vaccine codes are added, and they provide the type of vaccine and dose received. Appendix Q contains a table that clarifies the COVID-19 vaccine product code, administration code, manufacturer name, vaccine name(s), 10- and 11-digit National Drug Code (NDC) Labeler Product ID, and interval between doses.

New codes (93593 to 93598) for congenital heart defect cardiac catheterization procedures are included. Add-on code 93319 is added for 3D echocardiography imaging and postprocessing during transesophageal echocardiography (TCC), or during transthoracic echocardiography for congenital cardiac anomalies, for the assessment of cardiac structure (s) and function when performed.

CPT 98975 to 98977 were added to describe remote therapeutic monitoring services, and CPT 9890 and +98891 were added to describe remote therapeutic monitoring treatment management services.

Category III Code Section:

There are 76 new codes, 22 deleted codes, and 7 revised codes in the Category III code section. Many new category III codes are created for new and emerging technologies. Codes 0640T-0642T will describe noncontact near-infrared spectroscopy studies of flaps or wounds. Code 0652T-0654T will describe flexible, transnasal esophagogastroduodenoscopy services. Codes 0656T and 0657T will be used to describe vertebral body tethering services, and 0664T–0670T will be used to describe donor hysterectomy procedures.

It is a summary of CPT code 2022. In order to get accurate reimbursement from the payors, all the medical coding professionals to keep up to date with these coding changes and make sure all the team members, including medical billers and documentation specialists to educated on these Coding changes. We at AnnexMed keep track of all medical coding changes in ICD -10 and CPT codes, especially as old codes are revised, and new codes are added each year. To avoid interference with your revenue cycle, you might want to think about outsourcing to the experts at AnnexMed. That way, you can ensure that all of your procedures are coded correctly. Contact us today to find out more about our services!