Summary & Overview
CPT 0106T: Pressure Touch Sensitivity Threshold Testing
CPT code 0106T represents a focused, noninvasive sensory nerve evaluation that measures a patient’s pressure touch sensitivity threshold on an extremity to assess and quantify peripheral sensory nerve function. Nationally, this service matters for diagnosing peripheral nervous system disorders, documenting sensory impairment, and informing downstream diagnostic and treatment decisions. Payors commonly covering this type of diagnostic sensory testing include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. This publication provides clinicians, billing professionals, and payers with a concise briefing on the clinical purpose of the service, expected sites of care, and typical billing context. Readers will find: high-level clinical context for when the test is used; an overview of payers referenced in the analysis; common modifiers and billing considerations (listed elsewhere in the report); and guidance on where to find associated coding and documentation requirements. Data not available in the input is noted where applicable. The content is intended for a national audience and focuses on the code’s clinical role and coverage landscape rather than state-level or rate-specific detail.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 0106T describes a noninvasive sensory nerve evaluation in which the provider determines a patient’s pressure touch sensitivity threshold by applying pressure touch stimuli to the skin of an extremity and comparing results to normal reference values. The procedure quantifies sensory nerve function of an extremity to assist in diagnosing peripheral nervous system disorders such as sensory nerve damage.
Service Type: Sensory nerve function testing / peripheral nerve sensory assessment
Typical Site of Service: Outpatient clinic, neurology or physiatry office, or outpatient diagnostic center
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A 58-year-old patient with a history of type 2 diabetes and progressive numbness and tingling in the right foot presents to an outpatient neurology or physiatry clinic for sensory evaluation. The provider performs a focused, noninvasive sensory nerve assessment of the affected extremity using graded pressure-touch stimuli to determine the patient’s pressure touch sensitivity threshold and compare results to age-appropriate normal values. The clinical workflow includes intake and focused history, inspection of the skin and extremity, explanation of the test to the patient, calibration and application of standardized pressure-touch stimuli to designated dermatomal or peripheral nerve distributions, documentation of threshold values and asymmetry compared with the contralateral limb, and incorporation of findings into the diagnostic impression for peripheral neuropathy or other peripheral nervous system disorders. Test results are reported in the medical record and used to guide further diagnostic testing, medical management, or referral for electrodiagnostic studies if indicated.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
22 | Increased Procedural Services | When the service required substantially greater work than typical due to factors such as extensive testing area or patient cooperation issues |
26 |