CPT Code 80050 | General Health Panel
CPT code 80050 can be used for a general health panel if the lab analyst performed all three listed components: a Comprehensive Metabolic Panel, a Blood Count with Automated or Manual Differential WBC Count, and a Thyroid Stimulating Hormone test.
What Is CPT Code 80050?
CPT code 80050 refers to a “General Health Panel, ” a set of laboratory tests performed to provide a comprehensive overview of an individual’s overall health and well-being.
This panel is intended to check various aspects of the individual’s health, including metabolic function, blood cell count, and thyroid function.
CPT 80050 requires three components;
- Comprehensive metabolic panel: CPT 80053;
- Thyroid stimulating hormone, TSH: CPT 84443;
- Blood count with manual or automated differential;
- Blood count; complete, CBC, automated, Hgb, Hct, RBC, WBC, and platelet count, and automated differential WBC count; CPT 85025; or
- Blood count; complete, CBC, automated, Hgb, Hct, RBC, WBC, and platelet count; CPT 85026 with Blood count; automated differential WBC count; CPT 85004;
- Automated complete blood count along; CPT 85027 Blood count; blood smear, microscopic examination with manual differential WBC count; CPT 85007.
- Automated complete blood count; CPT 85027 with Blood count; manual differential WBC count, buffy coat; CPT 85009.
The general health panel CPT 80050 is designed to detect any underlying health conditions that may be present and can be used as a screening tool for people at risk for certain illnesses.
Description
The CPT book describes CPT code 80050 as: “General health panel.
This panel must include the following:
- comprehensive metabolic panel (CPT 80053)
- blood count, complete (CBC), automated and automated differential WBC count (CPT 85025 or CPT 85027 and CPT 85004) OR blood count, complete (CBC), automated (CPT 85027) and appropriate manual differential WBC count (CPT 85007 or CPT 85009)
- thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) (CPT 84443).”
Procedure
The lab analyst conducts a wide range of tests as part of the general health panel, designed to provide a comprehensive overview of an individual’s overall health and well-being.
These tests involve the collection of various specimens, such as whole blood and serum, and they are identified by code descriptors that consist of three different components.
The lab analyst must perform all three components listed in the code definition:
- a Comprehensive Metabolic Panel;
- a Blood Count with Automated or Manual Differential WBC Count, and
- a Thyroid Stimulating Hormone test.
The general health panel is a comprehensive set of tests that provides a detailed look at various aspects of an individual’s health, including their metabolic function, thyroid function, and blood cell count.
How To Use CPT 80050
CPT code 80050 is used to report a “General Health Panel,” a set of laboratory tests performed to provide a comprehensive overview of a patient’s overall health and well-being.
To report the general health panel using CPT code 80050, the lab analyst must perform all three listed components: a Comprehensive Metabolic Panel, a Blood Count with Automated or Manual Differential WBC Count, and a Thyroid Stimulating Hormone test.
It is important to note that a single component may require multiple tests, and the lab analyst may use various methods to perform each of the required panel tests.
Clinicians may order CPT 80050 for a comprehensive general health screening review, as the results provide information about the patient’s metabolic processes, blood cell count, and thyroid function.
Some payers may not cover the CPT code 80050 as a screening panel and pay separately for collecting the specimen using a code such as CPT 36415 for venous blood collection by venipuncture.
Most payers of lab tests, including Medicare, have denied payment for this general health panel due to the connotation of being for a health screen and that the individual tests can be billed separately.
When the clinician orders the three component tests as diagnostic tests, the lab should report the codes for the individual laboratory tests rather than the screening panel code.
If the lab analyst performs fewer tests than the panel lists, the lab should report each test individually instead of using the panel code. If the lab analyst performs more tests than the panel lists, the lab should list the panel code plus the individual codes for the additional tests.
