The CPT manual is used and recognized by virtually every payer as authoritative in the context of coding for medical services—to include federal healthcare programs, such as Medicare. The manual not only contains codes, along with their descriptors; it also includes large swaths of instructions on how to appropriately understand and assign these codes. The AMA describes CPT as “the uniform language of medicine.” So, what does CPT have in store for 2026? Let’s take a look.
New Codes
First, CPT 2026 adds 288 new codes to account for the latest advances in medical, surgical and diagnostic services now available to patients. These include the following.
Remote Monitoring. These newly added codes are meant to respond to new technology that allows providers to collect and analyze patients’ healthcare data for the purpose of monitoring and managing their patients’ conditions outside of a traditional clinical setting. Five new codes were created to report remote monitoring services over short periods, 2–15 days within a 30-day period. Additionally, two new codes report remote monitoring treatment management after 10 minutes of service per calendar month, down from the previous 20-minute threshold.
Augmentative AI Services. Several new codes for AI services have been added that augment physician capabilities and improve patient care. Some examples include:
- Coronary Atherosclerotic Plaque Assessment is used to assess the severity of coronary disease, derived from augmentative software analysis of the data set from a coronary computed tomographic angiography.
- Perivascular Fat Analysis for Cardiac Risk includes two codes for noninvasive assessment of cardiac risk derived from augmentative software analysis of perivascular fat with or without concurrent computed tomography (CT) scan of the heart.
- Multi-Spectral Imaging for Burn Wounds is assistive algorithmic classification of burn healing (i.e., healing or nonhealing) by noninvasive multispectral imaging.
- Detection of Cardiac Dysfunction is assistive algorithmic analysis of acoustic and electrocardiogram recording for detection of cardiac dysfunction (e.g., reduced ejection fraction, cardiac murmurs, atrial fibrillation).
Hearing Device Services. Twelve codes have been introduced that reflect innovative approaches to providing hearing device services. These patient-centered approaches include assessing visual, dexterity and psychosocial factors; validating device performance and sound quality; and providing training and support for patients using personal devices, such as smartphones, connected to their hearing devices.
Leg Revascularization. The Lower Extremity Revascularization section has been comprehensively updated and modernized. Previous codes have been deleted and there will be 46 new codes. The update reflects technological advancements and evolving care delivery models, particularly the shift toward outpatient settings.
Other Changes
In addition to the 288 new codes produced by the CPT Editorial Panel (with broad input from the health care community, government and industry), there were 84 deletions and 46 revisions of CPT codes. This gives us a grand total of 418 changes that will be found in the 2026 CPT coding manual.
From all indications, the CPT code set continues to expand in new areas of medicine, with proprietary laboratory analyses accounting for the largest proportion of new codes (27%). Category III CPT codes for emerging medical services accounted for more than a quarter of new codes (27%), supporting further innovation in healthcare.
Several existing codes, mainly for behavioral health services, have been added to CPT appendices P and T that list services rendered via audio-video or audio-only technologies that are recognized by the CPT Editorial Panel as correlating to in-person services. According to the AMA, “these additions increase flexibility in how behavioral health services are delivered, helping to overcome access barriers, especially in rural, underserved and vulnerable communities.”
So, medical coders of all stripes will have some changes in store come the first of next year. They will need to bone up on which codes have been added, revised or deleted that may impact their particular specialty or specialties. New year, new changes.