The AMA is working to accelerate digital medicine into clinical practice by integrating telehealth services into current procedural terminology — a medical code set used to report diagnostics and procedures. In an effort to forward this goal, the AMA's new Telehealth Services Workgroup convened for the first time on Thursday.
"The CPT code set is the foundation upon which every participant in the medical community — physicians, hospitals, allied health professionals, payers and others — can efficiently share accurate information about medical services," Steven J. Stack, MD, president of the AMA, said in a statement. "Input from the Telehealth Services Workgroup will help the CPT code set reflect new technological and telehealth advancements available to mainstream clinical practice, and ensures the code set can fulfill its role as the health system's common language for reporting contemporary medical procedures."
Here are four things to know about the workgroup.
• The committee is comprised of more than 50 expert physicians, health professionals, telemedicine innovators and insurers.
• It aims to facilitate proposals that will expand CPT's current telehealth codes to include emerging services.
• The workgroup will provide editorial input on proposed coding changes and additions to CPT that are intended to enhance telehealth services reporting as they become more important to managing patient care.
• Workgroup experts will also make recommendations to be considered by the CPT Editorial Panel.
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