11/18/2024

Big Oncology Changes in CPT 2025: Oncologists Should Watch for These Codes

Each year, oncology practices eagerly await Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) changes to see whether more accurate codes are coming for the procedures they perform every day.

This year, the American Medical Association (AMA) released 420 changes for CPT 2025 that will take effect on Jan. 1, 2025. Here are some of the key updates oncologists should know about.

Big Changes for CAR T-Cell Therapy Codes
Oncologists who perform CAR T-cell therapy may be familiar with category III codes (0537T-0540T) to describe the harvesting and preparation of these cells. Those codes are about to change.

Category III codes describe new or emerging technologies. When they are moved to category I codes, it typically means that the procedure or service has become more mainstream. The new category I codes for CAR T-cell therapy are:

• 38225 – Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy; harvesting of blood-derived T lymphocytes for development of genetically modified autologous CAR-T cells, per day

• 38226 – …preparation of blood-derived T lymphocytes for transportation (eg, cryopreservation, storage)

• 38227 – …receipt and preparation of CAR-T cells for administration

• 38338 – …CAR-T cell administration, autologous

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