Summary & Overview
CPT 80150: Amikacin Quantitative Assay for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring
CPT code 80150 represents a quantitative laboratory assay for measuring amikacin concentration in a clinical specimen. Therapeutic drug monitoring for amikacin is clinically important because of the drug's narrow therapeutic index and potential toxicity; accurate measurement guides dose adjustments and informs clinical decisions nationally across inpatient and outpatient care settings. This code captures the technical laboratory work required to produce a validated numeric drug concentration result.
Key payers in the national context include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise explanation of the service captured by the code, typical sites of service, and the clinical context for ordering amikacin levels. The publication summarizes common billing modifiers associated with laboratory services, notes where input data are unavailable, and outlines the practical implications for clinical and laboratory workflows. It also highlights what to expect in terms of coding classification and how this assay fits into therapeutic drug monitoring programs and antimicrobial stewardship efforts. Data not available in the input are identified clearly where relevant.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 80150 describes a quantitative laboratory analysis that measures the amount of amikacin, an aminoglycoside antibiotic, in a clinical specimen. The performed task is the technical laboratory analysis to determine drug concentration levels for therapeutic monitoring.
Service type: Therapeutic drug monitoring / quantitative drug assay
Typical site of service: Clinical laboratory or hospital laboratory (inpatient or outpatient specimen analysis)
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A 58-year-old hospitalized patient with a history of severe gram-negative sepsis is receiving intravenous amikacin for multi-drug resistant infection. The patient is critically ill with fluctuating renal function; the infectious disease team orders therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) to quantitate serum amikacin levels to ensure efficacy and minimize nephrotoxicity and ototoxicity. A nursing phlebotomist draws timed trough and/or peak serum specimens and sends them to the hospital central laboratory. The lab analyst performs the technical assay corresponding to 80150 to measure the concentration of amikacin in the specimen and generates a quantitative result reported to the ordering clinician. Results are used by the clinician to adjust dosing and schedule repeat levels as needed. Typical site of service is an inpatient hospital laboratory or an outpatient hospital-based clinic/lab with the technical component performed by trained clinical laboratory scientists.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
26 | Professional component | When billing for interpretation or consultative component provided by a pathologist or clinical chemist separate from the lab's technical work. |
TC |