Pathology and Lab Section of the CPT Book
This week we will be learning about the Pathology and Lab Section of the CPT Book. As physicians and healthcare professionals work to help their patients, they usually need medical science assistance to guide them. This guidance frequently comes from tests performed by professionals working in a laboratory, studying the evolution of a patient’s disease.
One such coding is call panel codes. Panel codes can be confusing. These are groupings of tests that are commonly performed at the same time. Here is a short article from AAPC to help you better comprehend coding panels. CPT Coding for Laboratory Panels (Links to an external site.)
Review the Pathology and Laboratory section of the CPT book; you will notice that many codes include a long list of tests within one code’s description.
Recall two different panels in this section and review the components of each panel.
Then discuss the following:
- why are there specific tests grouped into these panels?
- Specify how you would code if all tests in a panel are not performed, and how would you apply it to a scenario?
- What is coded when more than the tests in a panel are performed? (Be specific using an example)
