Revision of Acute Hepatitis Panel

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, May 19, 2000

Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes are standardized codes developed and maintained by the American Medical Association (AMA) for the classification and reporting of medical services. The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) requires the use of these codes for reporting services to Medicare and Medicaid for reimbursement. On January 1, 1998, the components of the test panel for acute viral hepatitis (CPT#80059) were changed to exclude the tests for 1gM antibody to hepatitis A virus (1gM anti-HAV) and 1gM antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (1gM anti-HBc), the tests that specifically identify recent infection with hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV).

Effective January 1, 2000 (CPT 2000), the acute hepatitis panel has been revised (CPT#80074) to re-include the tests for lgM anti-HAV and lgM anti-HBc. This revised panel, which also includes tests for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibody to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV), should be used to diagnose any patient presenting with signs and/or symptoms of acute viral hepatitis. Additional information on OPT codes is available at the AMA World-Wide Web site, http://www.ama-assn.org/med-sci/cpt/coding.htm.[*]

(*) References to sites of non-CDC organizations on the World-Wide Web are provided as a service to MMWR readers and do not constitute or imply endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. CDC is not responsible for the content of pages found at these sites.