CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) is a commonly used clinical terminology developed by the American Medical Association (AMA) in 1966. It is a national coding standard mandated by HHS under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

The CPT codes offer healthcare professionals a uniform language for coding medical services and procedures to streamline reporting and increase accuracy and efficiency. CPT codes are also used for administrative management purposes such as claims processing and developing guidelines for medical care review.

The CPT terminology is the most widely accepted medical nomenclature used across the U.S. to report medical, surgical, radiology, laboratory, anesthesiology, genomic sequencing, evaluation, and management (E/M) services under public and private health insurance programs.