RPM, AI, hearing devices get CPT code updates for 2026

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Remote patient monitoring, artificial intelligence, hearing devices and leg revascularization treatments all will get billing code updates for 2026.

There are 288 new codes among 418 total changes in the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) 2026 code set, effective Jan. 1, 2026. AMA announced the latest update, calling it “the backbone of health data interoperability” in the United States.

"CPT is more than a set of billing codes. The CPT code set allows for the seamless flow of complex medical information across the entire health system and has a foundational role in research, analysis, and benchmarking of health care services and outcomes that promotes the delivery of high-quality care,” AMA President-elect Willie Underwood, III, MD, MSc, MPH, said in the announcement. “The health system increasingly relies on CPT to support a data infrastructure for value-based care adoption, preventive care access, and technological innovation acceleration.”

Here are the major changes or additions, with information supplied by AMA.

Shorter duration remote monitoring

Five new codes were created to report remote monitoring services over short periods, two to 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.

The new codes come in response to changes in technology that allows physicians and other health care providers to collect and analyze patient health data to monitor and manage patients’ acute and chronic conditions outside of traditional clinical settings, according to AMA. Research shows the shorter durations have benefits for patients, and the new codes keep pace with modern medicine.

Augmentative and assistive AI services

AMA said new codes deal with AI services that augment physician capabilities and improve patient care. “These codes support patient access to innovative technologies that assist physicians by detecting clinically relevant data that might otherwise go unnoticed, or augment physician work by analyzing and quantifying data to produce clinically meaningful insights,” the announcement said.

Some examples include:

• Coronary atherosclerotic plaque assessment to assess the severity of coronary disease. The assessment is derived from augmentative software analysis of the data set from a coronary computed tomographic angiography.
• Perivascular fat analysis for cardiac risk. There are two codes for noninvasive assessment of cardiac risk derived from augmentative software analysis of perivascular fat with or without concurrent computed tomography scan of the heart.
• Multi-spectral imaging for burn wounds is assistive algorithmic classification of burn 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, such as reduced ejection fraction, cardiac murmurs, or atrial fibrillation.

Hearing device services

There are 12 new codes to 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, the AMA announcement said.

Code overhaul for leg revascularization

The lower extremity revascularization section has been comprehensively updated and modernized, with previous codes deleted and 46 new codes added.

“The update reflects technological advancements and evolving care delivery models, particularly the shift toward outpatient settings,” the AMA announcement said. “The revised codes aim to improve access to advanced therapies that enhance mobility and functional status, especially for patients with persistent symptoms, such as pain, cramping, and fatigue, who have not responded to other medical treatments like medication or structured exercise.”

Appendixes updated for behavioral health services

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. These additions increase flexibility in how behavioral health services are delivered, helping to overcome access barriers, especially in rural, underserved, and vulnerable communities.

Learning more

AMA has planned the CPT & RBRVS 2026 Annual Symposium for Nov. 19-21. The online webinar draws more than 1,700 attendees every year.