ARTICLE SUMMARY:
The AMA discusses a new CPT code for artificial intelligence. Excerpted from Pathways’ Picks December 10: EU Reform Proposal Imminent, CMS-FDA Tag Team, and Global Updates.
No final conclusions or decisions were reached during a day-long American Medical Association meeting December 8 convened to discuss proposals to establish a new CPT billing code set for artificial intelligence offerings. The AMA’s Digital Medicine Coding Committee, an offshoot of the CPT Editorial Panel, has circulated plans to redefine terms and create Clinically Meaningful Algorithmic Analysis (CMAA) codes to address AI tools that provide health output or an interpretation without what is traditionally defined as clinician “work” —a key traditional factor in forming codes and setting payment. Speakers at the Chicago gathering pushed back against DMCC distinctions between “assistive,” “augmentative,” and “autonomous” technologies and questioned whether a new code set would solve the core statutory and technical challenges that CMS faces in directly reimbursing for AI and other advanced software.