Pathology and laboratory · global periods

Pathology and laboratory global periods.

The laboratory procedures with a CMS global package, and how long it runs. Inside the package, routine post-operative visits are 99024; anything else needs the right modifier.

2025 PFS

Commercial payers usually follow CMS global periods but may not; check the contract.

Procedures and their global period.

Global periods as assigned in the 2025 CMS Physician Fee Schedule. Commercial payers usually follow CMS but may not. Confirm before billing.

Pathology and laboratory procedures with global periods
CodeDescriptionWork RVUGlobal

Inside the package.

  • Included: the day before (90-day only), the day of, routine post-operative visits (report 99024), dressing changes, suture removal and the usual complications treated in the office.
  • Not included: a return to the operating room (modifier 78), an unrelated problem (24 for a visit, 79 for a procedure), a staged procedure (58), and the visit where surgery was decided (57 for 90-day, 25 for 10-day).
  • The receptionist’s post-op confirmation calls and screening pages fall inside the package too; they cost the practice minutes, not claims.

CPT codes and wRVUsICD-10 codesAll pathology and laboratory references

A receptionist that knows laboratory calls.

Post-op screening forms your surgeons approve, the on-call paged with answers, and confirmation calls before and after the operation.