New CPT Code to Report Novel Coronavirus Test

The American Medical Association (AMA) recently announced the approval of a new addition to the CPT by the CPT Editorial Panel. This was done in an effort to improve tracking, allocating, and optimizing resources in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. This will help physicians bill for procedures that combat the novel coronavirus.

The New Code and Descriptor

“87635 Infectious agent detection by nucleic acid (DNA or RNA); severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (Coronavirus disease [COVID-19]), amplified probe technique” This CPT code is now effective as the industry standard for reporting testing of the novel coronavirus in the US healthcare system. Further information can be found on The American Medical Association website. Short, medium, and long descriptors can be accessed at the AMA website.

Operation Update for Quest National Services

At this time we are running business as usual, but we are closely monitoring guidelines from the Center of Disease Control (CDC), World Health Organization, OSHA, and decrees from our state and federal government. Our office is considered “Low Exposure” due to the minimal occupational contact we have with the general public, our Orlando headquarters is in a 4-story building shared with many tenants across different business platforms; our Waco office has numerous tenants across a variety of business platforms as well. We certainly can’t control who comes in and out of our buildings but we can control who comes in and out of our facilities. We’re taking the following measures to maintain our level of service to our clients:

• We are requiring all employees to maintain a clean and sanitary work environment
• Our administration is doing hourly surface-level cleaning
• Visitors are required to utilize sanitizer upon entering our facility and be in general good health
• We as an organization are doing everything to keep our employees healthy by maintaining a sanitized work environment
• If our office closes due to any circumstances we do have a contingency plan to ensure claims and payments continue processing as normal

Our entire management team is monitoring on a daily basis federal, state, and local mandates and our plan is to continue operating as normal until otherwise instructed and/or mandated by our government. Our primary goal to ensure that you know we are here if you have questions. If you or your office is interested in exploring a free telemedicine platform, please contact us to learn more.

For informational purposes only.