This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a colleague Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Rights & Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content

CPT, RBRVS, RUC: A Primer on the Alphabet Soup of Coding and Reimbursement

	Current Procedural Terminology

 
Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) is a uniform language that describes medical, surgical, and diagnostic services, and it was designed to enhance communication among health care providers, patients, and third parties. The American Medical Association (AMA) developed CPT in 1966. In 1983, CPT was adopted as part of the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) of the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA, now the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS]) to report and seek reimbursement for services provided to Medicare Part B beneficiaries. The Health Insurance Portability and Accounting Act of 1996 (HIPAA) specifies CPT as the standard procedural coding . . . [Click for More]