CPT codes: How to get started

In order to use Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) coding, you’ll need to have sound knowledge in the general medical parlance. This is inclusive of medical terminology basics as well as a good understanding of human anatomy and physiology. CPT is segmented into three categories of codes:


• Category I: These are procedures that are consistent with contemporary medical practice and are used extensively.


• Category II: These are supplementing tracking codes that can be used for performance measures.


• Category III: These are temporary codes for emerging technology, services and procedures.


There are several sources of access for the CPT codes, both online and offline. You can check out a CPT coding website, which offers free study guides, tutorials and assessments that can help you in your understanding of specific CPT codes and the overall coding process.


Instead of looking at CPT coding as one big picture, it makes more sense to break it down into smaller ones that are easier to comprehend. You need to spend a fair amount of time learning about Category I codes before moving on to the others. This will give you a solid foundation and the confidence to go further. You’ll also get more insight by visiting the websites of different insurance companies, CMS, and others.

Tips to fill health insurance claim forms

Filling a health insurance claim form is not too difficult a task, but some people do run into troubled waters while doing so. Keeping a few things in mind will certainly help you file your claim better so that you don’t land in any spot.



Before you get your health insurance claim form, the first thing that you need to procure is an itemized bill from your doctor, listing all the services that he has provided you with along with the cost of each of those services. This is something that you will need to attach to your health insurance claim form.



After this, reach out to your health insurance company to procure a health insurance claim form. If you have any query, get them clarified then and there before filling up the form. It will question you on things such as insurance information, what was the visit for, among other things.




After you’re done with filling up the claim form, make sure you keep duplicate copies of the filled out form as well as of the itemized bill obtained from your doctor. This will do away with any error that may be made in the claim process and make your task easier in case your health insurance claim gets lost. In fact make copies of everything that is going to be involved in the process.



Last but not the least, a very important part of the process is to review it. See to it that everything’s in place before you send it off because you wouldn’t want even a small mistake to throw things out of gear. Find out how long it’s going to take it get backs to you.



Following these tips while filling up health insurance claim forms is certainly the way to go!

Report the code that best represents the specific procedure

CPT procedure code versus unlisted procedure code: Procedural codes are a key component in the medical coding and billing industry. But where does unlisted procedure codes fit into the scheme of things?


When a procedure cannot be accurately described by a CPT code, you need to report unlisted procedure code rather than a code that is close. Using a listed code that does not match the procedure can bring in compliance risks.


When do you report unlisted procedure codes?


• You can use unlisted procedure codes for new procedures that are not yet represented in the CPT code set.

• You can also use these codes for procedures that do not involve new technology and are not performed at regular intervals.


When a physician carries out several procedures that are represented by the same unlisted procedure code, only one unit of the unlisted code should be reported. Also, you’ll do well to remember that you should not use modifiers on unlisted procedure codes as these codes do not have a standard description that can be changed.


More often than not, healthcare providers try to escape the use of unlisted procedures fearing that payment may elude them or might get delayed. Therefore, billing for unlisted procedure code is certainly more labor-intensive than billing for listed procedures. But this should not prevent you from reporting the code that best represents the specific procedure that was carried out.

Official Medical Code Descriptors and Guidelines, How-to articles, CMS references, Discussion forums

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There are some decent code lookup systems out there, but many of them are hard to use and too expensive for the average physician practice to afford, says Coding Institute president Samantha Saldukas. «So our medical coders and software developers teamed up to create a tool that's affordable, easy to use, and packed with the top-notch advice The Coding Institute is known for.

Supercoder.com is a simple, instant connection to official medical code descriptors and guidelines, how-to articles, CMS references, discussion forums, and other tools that help medical coders and billers excel in the work they do everyday. And everything is code and keyword searchable.

“Supercoder has been such a help,” says Coding Institute Managing Editor Jennifer Godreau, whose team of CPCs has field-tested the new tool. “It's my go-to-place for code searches, back info, and CCI bundles - all in one easy to use location with a super fast search engine.”

Now Inhealthcare is bringing this «go-to place» to even more coders and billers. Supercoder.com is currently accepting limited beta subscribers to sign up and test the functionality and features of the site. Interested parties can sign up for a free trial here:
Supercoder offers to its users:
* Official descriptors and guidelines for CPT®, ICD-9 and HCPCS codes lookup.
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* Simple paths that take coders to exactly what they need from CMS.
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*An online community to help coders, billers and clinicians in the daily reimbursement challenges they face.

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