The emergence of medical innovations, new technologies and cutting-edge procedures spurred most of the annual changes presented in the release of the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT®) 2025, the nation’s uniform data-sharing code set for medical procedures and services published by the American Medical Association (AMA).
“The CPT code set is the foundation for the efficient and effective exchange of standardized information in a data-driven health system, facilitating the reporting, measuring, analyzing, researching, and benchmarking of medical services and procedures with the goal of delivering better patient care, improved outcomes and lower costs,” said AMA President Bruce A, Scott, M.D. “The latest updates to the CPT code set reflect advancements in contemporary clinical practice and ensures the code set fulfills its vital role as the trusted universal language of medicine.”
There are 420 overall updates in the CPT 2025 code set, including 270 new codes, 112 deletions, and 38 revisions. The CPT code set continues to expand in new areas of medicine with proprietary laboratory analyses assigned to the largest proportion of new codes (37%), mostly for novel genetic testing. Category III CPT codes for emerging medical services accounted for about a third of new codes (30%).
Updates to the CPT code set are considered through an open editorial process managed by the CPT Editorial Panel, an independent body convened by the AMA that collects broad input from the health care community and beyond to ensure CPT content reflects the demands of a modern health care system. This rigorous editorial process keeps the CPT code set current with contemporary medical science and technology so it can fulfill its vital role as the trusted language of medicine today and the code to its future.
Key updates in the CPT 2025 code set include:
– – Digital medicine – Remote therapeutic monitoring (RTM) services were editorially revised. Code 98975 was updated to include digital therapeutic intervention, while codes 98976-98978 were revised to include device supply for data access or data transmissions to support RTM of patients.
– – Augmented/Artificial Intelligence (AI) – The AI Taxonomy introduced in 2023 has been implemented in category III CPT codes to classify AI medical services and procedures as assistive, augmentative, or autonomous based on the work performed by the AI application on behalf of the physician or other qualified health care professional (QHP). Seven category III code have been established for AI augmentative data analysis involved in electrocardiogram measurements (0902T and 0932T), medical chest imagining (0877T-0880T), and image-guided prostate biopsy (0898T).
– – General surgery – Updates were made to CPT’s general surgery section to reflect novel approaches in skin grafts for wound care and recovery (15011-15018) and advancements in surgical techniques for the elimination of tumors within the abdomen (49186-49190).
The AMA invites the health care community to the world’s only medical coding event delivered by the authority on the CPT code set. Get guidance on the updates for the CPT 2025 code set by virtually attending the CPT & RBRVS 2025 Annual Symposium in November.
Coding books and products are available from the AMA Storefront on Amazon, including the CPT 2025 Professional Edition codebook. CPT data products, including the CPT 2025 Standard Data File, are available via the AMA Intelligent Platform.