American Medical Association Updates COVID-19 Coding Guidelines

The American Medical Association (AMA) updated their COVID-19 coding guidelines at the end of May and we wanted to point out these changes to our readers. As a medical coder, you’ll need to stay updated on all of the latest trends, news and guidelines when it comes to the healthcare industry. 

Whether you’re a seasoned medical coding veteran or you’re just getting started studying for your medical coding certification exam, it’s a smart decision to subscribe to relevant medical coding blogs and follow the right medical coding social media accounts. Let’s dive a little deeper into some of the recent updates by the AMA.

AMA Coding Updates for COVID-19

These codes were updated to streamline codes related to coronavirus testing. Here is a summary of codes that have been approved and published for the 2021 CPT code set, taken directly from the AMA COVID-19 update:

• “Accepted addition of code 87635 to report infectious agent detection by nucleic acid (DNA or RNA); severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (Coronavirus disease [COVID-19]), amplified probe technique. The new code was effective March 13, 2020.
• Accepted revision of code 86318 to report immunoassay for infectious agent antibody(ies) and to be a parent to 86328; addition of code 86328 to report single step antibody testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; addition of child code 86769 to report multiple-step antibody testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; and revision of the Immunology guidelines. The new codes and revision were effective April 10, 2020.
• Accepted addition of PLA code 0202U to report the BioFire® Respiratory Panel 2.1 (RP2.1) test. The new code was effective May 20, 2020.”

Other COVID-19 Coding Resources from the AMA

In addition to the above updates, the AMA has also released some fact sheets and other resources that will help medical coders with COVID-19-related codes. The fact sheets (aka CPT Assistant guides) include:

• Codes, descriptors and purpose
• Clinical examples
• Description of the procedures
• FAQs

Here are links to the different resources the AMA has released:

• May 2020
• April 2020
• March 2020

For the latest medical coding news and insights, be sure to also subscribe to the Medical Coding Academy blog.