(uploaded) From
concept to CPT code to compensation: how the payment system
works, January 2004. This article describes (1)
the fundamental structure of reimbursement for radiology and radiation oncology
services; (2) the multiple steps required as a new procedure advances from a
research concept to the assignment of a code in the American Medical
Association’s Current Procedural Terminology; (3) the process by which the new
procedure and code are assigned a reimbursement value in the Medicare Fee
Schedule, which acts as the base for over 75% of current medical reimbursement;
and (4) the maintenance of this system for existing
procedures.