Resources
Publications
Clinical significance of IgM and IgG test for diagnosis of highly suspected COVID-19 infection.
Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Shenzhen Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, China
State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou China;
Antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in patients of novel coronavirus disease 2019
Institute of Hepatology, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Disease, Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, Shenzhen 518112, Guangdong Province, China
State Key Laboratory for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Carol Yu Centre for Infection, Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
CPT Codes
April 10, 2020
The American Medical Association (AMA) today announced two new CPT codes to report when patients receive blood tests that detect COVID-19 antibodies.
The updates were approved April 10, 2020, during a special meeting of the CPT Editorial Panel. The new codes are intended for use as the industry standard for accurate reporting and tracking of blood tests performed to specifically detect antibodies associated with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. These two new codes are effective immediately.
“Antibody testing that identifies patients that have been exposed to the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and developed an immune response is likely to have important public health implications by providing a clearer picture of the prevalence of the disease in the U.S.,” said AMA President Patrice A. Harris, M.D., M.A. “The expedited approval of new CPT codes for COVID-19 antibody tests is an important step that enhances the reporting of innovative tools now available to advance medicine’s overarching goals of reducing the COVID-19 disease burden, improving health outcomes and reducing long-term care costs.”
Code 86328 was established for antibody tests using a single step method immunoassay. This testing method typically includes a strip with all of the critical components for the assay and is appropriate for a point of care platform. Code 86769 was established for antibody tests using a multiple step method.