Current Procedural Terminology: History, Structure, and Relationship to Valuation for the Neuroradiologist

The year 1965 was critical for US health care policy. In that year, Medicare was created as part of the Social Security Act under President Lyndon B. Johnson after several earlier attempts by Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman. In 1966, the American Medical Association first published a set of standard terms and descriptors to document medical procedures, known as Current Procedural Terminology, or CPT. Fifty years later, though providers have certainly heard the term "CPT code," most would benefit from an enhanced understanding of the historical basis, current structure, and relationship to valuation of Current Procedural Terminology. This article will highlight this evolution, particularly as it relates to neuroradiology.

What is the RUC?

We describe a crucial but little-known constituent of the Medicare payment system.

Case report. MRI findings of severe Epstein-Barr virus encephalomyelitis

The MR findings of a clinically severe case of serologically documented Epstein-Barr virus encephalomyelitis are presented, demonstrating hyperintensity on T2-weighted sequences throughout cervical spinal cord, the basal ganglia, and the insular cortex. It is not known whether the preferential involvement of gray matter structures in this case is a typical or unusual feature of this rare entity.

Congenital fusion of the fourth and fifth metacarpals associated with primary gonadal failure

Congenital fusion of the fourth and fifth metacarpals is described in a male infant and his maternal grandfather. Primary gonadal failure, which is present in the infant, has not been noted in previously, reported cases. The pedigree in this family is compatible with X-linked recessive or autosomal dominant inheritance with incomplete penetrance.