What is the difference between ICD and HCPCS codes?

Asked by: Miss Olga Ward II  |  Last update: August 31, 2025
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ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes provide the reason for seeking health care; ICD-10-PCS procedure codes tell what inpatient treatment and services the patient got; CPT (HCPCS Level I) codes describe outpatient services and procedures; and providers generally use HCPCS (Level II) codes for equipment, drugs, and supplies for ...

What is the difference between ICD and HCPCS?

ICD: International Statistical Classification of Disease and Related Health Problems. CPT: Current Procedural Terminology. HCPCS: Healthcare Common Procedures Coding System.

What is the difference between HCPCS codes and CPT codes?

HCPCS stands for Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System and is used to classify medical procedures and services. Meanwhile, CPT, or Current Procedural Terminology, is used to describe medical procedures and services.

What is the difference between ICD-10 and CPT codes?

While CPT codes are similar to ICD-10 codes, CPT codes identify services rendered, whereas ICD-10 codes represent patient diagnoses.

When should HCPCS codes be used?

HCPCS Level II: A standardized coding system that is used primarily to identify products, supplies, and services not included in the CPT® codes, such as ambulance services or durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) when used outside a physician's office.

The Difference Between HCPCS and CPT Codes

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What is an example of a HCPCS code?

An example of an HCPCS Level I is 90716, which coders can use to denote the administration of varicella or chickenpox vaccine. Meanwhile, an example of an HCPCS Level II code is R0070.

What are the two main coding systems?

Two common medical coding classification systems are in use — the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) and the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT).

Are HCPCS G codes for Medicare only?

As G codes are part of the national HCPCS Level II code set, they may also be used by non-Medicare insurers.

What are the two types of ICD-10 codes?

But the two code sets differ vastly. The primary distinctions are: ICD-10-CM is a diagnosis code set used for all healthcare settings. ICD-10-PCS is a procedure code set used only in hospital inpatient settings.

What is the difference between CPT coding and ICD coding?

CPT® codes, or Current Procedural Terminology codes, are a standardized system used to describe the specific services and procedures provided to a patient. Unlike ICD-10 codes, which identify the diagnosis or medical condition, CPT® codes focus on documenting the what—that is, the treatment or service delivered.

What is the purpose of HCPCS?

The Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) is a national, uniform coding structure developed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to standardize the coding systems used to process Medicare and Medicaid (Medi-Cal) claims on a national basis.

What are the basics of ICD-10 coding?

A Five-Step Process
  • Step 1: Search the Alphabetical Index for a diagnostic term. ...
  • Step 2: Check the Tabular List. ...
  • Step 3: Read the code's instructions. ...
  • Step 4: If it is an injury or trauma, add a seventh character. ...
  • Step 5: If glaucoma, you may need to add a seventh character.

What is the last step in the coding process?

The 'four-step coding process' is the method used by clinical coders to ensure accurate and consistent code assignment. As the name suggests, there are four important steps to follow to ensure you arrive at the correct diagnosis or procedure code. Step 1: Analyse, Step 2: Locate, Step 3: Assign, Step 4: Verify.

What is the difference between CPT codes and Hcpcs codes?

CPT codes are entirely numeric and consist of five digits. HCPCS codes are alphanumeric, which means they use both numbers and letters. You'll always see a letter followed by four numbers. These structures make it easy to differentiate between an HCPCS code vs.

Are ICD codes used for billing?

ICD codes are used in billing, treatments, and statistics collection. Having the right code is important to ensure that standardized treatment for a medical issue is delivered and that medical expenses are reimbursed.

What is the difference between ICD-10 and ICD O?

In contrast to ICD-10, the ICD-O includes topography for sites of haematopoietic and reticuloendothelial tumours. The morphology axis provides five-digit codes ranging from M-8000/0 to M-9989/3. The first four digits indicate the specific histological term.

What is the difference between ICD-10 and Hcpcs codes?

ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes provide the reason for seeking health care; ICD-10-PCS procedure codes tell what inpatient treatment and services the patient got; CPT (HCPCS Level I) codes describe outpatient services and procedures; and providers generally use HCPCS (Level II) codes for equipment, drugs, and supplies for ...

Which codes should never be used as primary diagnosis codes?

As provided by ICD-10-CM guidelines, inappropriate primary diagnosis codes include but are not limited to: External Cause Codes of Morbidity (V, W, X, or Y codes [ICD-10-CM]) describes an environmental event causing an injury, not the nature of the injury, and therefore should not be used as a principal diagnosis.

How to determine HCPCS code?

All HCPCS Level II codes consist of five characters, beginning with a letter (A–V) and followed by four numeric digits. The letter that begins the HCPCS Level II code represents the code chapter to which the HCPCS code belongs, thereby grouping similar items together.

What are three services not covered by Medicare?

We don't cover these routine items and services: Routine or annual physical checkups (visit Medicare Wellness Visits to learn about exceptions). exams required by third parties, like insurance companies, businesses, or government agencies. Eye exams for prescribing, fitting, or changing eyeglasses.

What is a 99214 G code?

According to CPT, 99214 is indicated for an “office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of an established patient, which requires at least two of these three key components: a detailed history, a detailed examination and medical decision making of moderate complexity.” [For more detailed ...

Who uses HCPCS codes?

The Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) is a collection of standardized codes used in medical billing to represent various medical procedures, services, products and supplies in claims to Medicare, Medicaid, and many third-party payers.

When to use HCPCS code?

Level II of the HCPCS is a standardized coding system that is used primarily to identify products, supplies, and services not included in the CPT codes such as drugs and biologicals, or durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) used in outpatient settings such as hospital outpatient ...

What are F codes in medical billing?

F codes are further broken up into the following categories:
  • F00–F09: codes for organic, including symptomatic, mental disorders.
  • F10–F19: codes for mental and behavioral disorders due to psychoactive substance abuse.
  • F20–F29: codes for schizophrenia, schizotypal, and delusional disorders.

What are the 3 main types of coding?

Answer: There are three common types of coding:
  • Closed-form coding. This type of coding is used for fixed length messages, where the same code is used for every message. ...
  • Error-correcting codes. These codes are designed to detect and correct errors in transmitted messages. ...
  • Probabilistic coding.