T is for telephone: Appendix T lists 38 audio-only CPT codes

You won’t find the new appendix for audio-only services in the print version of your CPT manual until the 2023 edition. But Appendix T (CPT codes that may be used for synchronous real-time interactive audio-only telemedicine services) went into effect April 1 and was added to the electronic version of the CPT manual in March.

 

The CPT list features 38 codes, according to an undated article on the AMA’s website. That’s a much shorter list than the 87 CPT and HCPCS codes that Medicare has given audio-only status during the COVID-19 public health emergency. However, 36 of the Appendix T codes are also on Medicare’s audio-only list. The two exceptions are 96040 (Genetic counseling 30 min) and 96110 (Developmental screen w/score).

 

When a service on the list is performed through a real-time audio-only connection – typically a telephone call – it should be reported with modifier 93 (Synchronous telemedicine service rendered via telephone or other real-time interactive audio-only telecommunications system), according to the AMA article. But of course, payers have the final say in how it will process and pay for audio encounters. Adding it to a claim could trigger a denial if the clearinghouse or the payer’s claims processing system doesn’t recognize it.

The AMA’s CPT editorial panel approved the new appendix during the February 2022 CPT Editorial Panel meeting. The update was “effective immediately in electronic format,” according to the summary of the meeting.

 

The following list provides the codes in Appendix T along with their short descriptors. When a code does not have an active payment status in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule the code’s status is listed in parentheses next to the descriptor.