The Current Procedural Terminology (CPT)

The Current Procedural Terminology, or CPT for short, was first introduced by the American Medical Association (AMA) in 1966. And throughout the years there have been many updates, revisions, and subsequent editions. In 1983 CPT became part of the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System or HCPCS to report Medicare Part B physician’s services. In 1986 Medicaid required HCPCS for reporting and by 1986 the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act required CPT codes for any outpatient hospital surgical procedures. In 1996 after the start of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountably Act (HIPAA), both CPT and HCPCS were named the procedural code sets for physician services, physical and occupational therapy services, radiological procedures, clinical