American College of Radiology highlights imaging CPT code changes for 2022 and sooner

The American College of Radiology on Wednesday notified providers of new CPT code changes that will affect its members beginning as soon as this summer.

Those include two Category 3 Current Procedural Terminology updates from the American Medical Association pertaining to quantitative, multi-parametric MRI. This new technology does not currently have a CPT code, but the AMA is remedying that by adding 0648T and 0649T, effective July 1.

These code additions pertain to data preparation, transmission, interpretation and reporting for mp-MRI, an exam used to analyze tissue composition, the college said.

“The ACR urges its members to review and consider how the bundled and new code changes may impact their practices,” it noted in a May 5 update.

In addition, the American Medical Association is rolling out new Category 1 diagnostic radiology codes in its 2022 set, available for reporting beginning Jan. 1. Those include four new codes for reporting trabecular bone scores, which measure the structural condition of bone micro-architecture. Two more CPT code additions next year will cover a new procedure—destruction of the intraosseous basivertebral nerve—that provides relief for some chronic lower-back pain.

You can read more about the changes from the American College of Radiology’s news post here.

Marty Stempniak

Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic. 

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