CPT — Current Procedural Terminology

What Is CPT?

CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) is a coding system maintained by the AMA (American Medical Association) that describes medical, surgical, and diagnostic procedures. Each CPT code maps to a specific procedure with defined components, providing a standard language for communication between providers, payers, and health administrators.

Although CPT is US-centric, its codes are widely referenced in Latin America for procedure classification and billing benchmarking. Many Latin American institutions use mappings between CPT and their local tariff systems to standardize the description of services rendered.

CPT is used alongside ICD-10 for complete clinical encounter coding: ICD-10 identifies the diagnosis and CPT describes the procedure performed. This combination is essential for electronic billing and the revenue cycle in healthcare institutions.

Why It Matters in Healthcare

• Accurate billing: each procedure has a unique code that facilitates clear and auditable billing to payers.
• Procedure classification: provides a standardized language for describing medical, surgical, and diagnostic services.
• ICD-10 complement: together with ICD-10, it enables complete encounter coding (diagnosis + procedure).
• Institutional benchmarking: enables comparison of procedure volumes and costs across institutions and time periods.
• International reference: although US-originated, CPT is referenced globally as a procedure classification standard.

How Davix Relates to CPT

• Davix Gestión Comercial supports procedure coding and mapping to institutional tariff systems.
• It facilitates electronic billing by linking coded procedures with payer-specific pricing and rules.
• It enables production reports and revenue analysis based on procedure classification.
• It integrates procedure coding with the revenue cycle workflow to reduce billing rejections.
• It is compatible with the tariff systems used in Peru and Latin America.

Learn how Davix Gestión Comercial optimizes procedure billing at your institution.