What’s new in CPT 2026
Effective Jan. 1, 2026, the CPT code set includes 418 total changes:
- 288 new codes
- 84 deletions
- 46 revisions
Key highlights:
- Remote monitoring: New codes for shorter-duration monitoring (2–15 days) and reduced reporting threshold (10 minutes/month).
- AI-assisted services: Codes for coronary plaque analysis, perivascular fat risk assessment, burn wound imaging, and cardiac dysfunction detection.
- Hearing devices: 12 new codes covering performance validation, training, and integration with personal devices.
- Leg revascularization: 46 new codes modernize reporting and reflect outpatient care shifts.
- Behavioral health: Expanded telehealth and audio-only codes to improve access in rural and underserved areas.
The American Medical Association (AMA) has released the 2026 Current Procedural Terminology (CPT®) code set, adding 288 new codes that reflect advances in medical, surgical, and diagnostic services, the association announced in a press release.
The 2026 update, effective Jan. 1, 2026, includes a total of 418 code changes: 288 additions, 84 deletions and 46 revisions. The new codes expand in several key areas, including remote patient monitoring, augmented intelligence (AI) services, hearing device services, and leg revascularization procedures.
“CPT is more than a set of billing codes,” said AMA President-elect Willie Underwood III, MD, MSc, MPH, in the release. “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.”
Among the most notable updates:
- Remote monitoring: Five new codes capture shorter-duration monitoring over 2–15 days within a 30-day period, reflecting clinical evidence that supports benefits from shorter monitoring windows. Two additional codes lower the threshold for reporting remote monitoring management from 20 minutes to 10 minutes per month.
- AI-assisted services: New codes address technologies that augment physician decision-making, such as software that analyzes CT angiography for coronary plaque, assesses perivascular fat for cardiac risk, classifies burn wound healing via multispectral imaging, and detects cardiac dysfunction from acoustic and ECG recordings.
- Hearing devices: Twelve new codes support patient-centered services such as validating device performance, training patients, and integrating personal devices like smartphones with hearing aids.
- Leg revascularization: A comprehensive overhaul replaces previous codes with 46 new ones to better reflect modern techniques and the shift toward outpatient treatment. The update is intended to improve access to advanced therapies for patients with persistent symptoms.
The release also noted that the CPT Editorial Panel updated appendices covering behavioral health codes to include services rendered by audio-video and audio-only technologies, aiming to improve access in rural and underserved areas.
The AMA emphasized that the CPT code set remains a critical component of health care data infrastructure, supporting interoperability, value-based care, and innovation.
Coding resources, including the CPT 2026 Professional Edition codebook and educational products, are available through the AMA. The organization will also host its CPT & RBRVS 2026 Annual Symposium virtually to provide expert guidance on the changes.
