Summary & Overview
CPT 82380: Serum Beta‑Carotene (Carotene) Quantitative
CPT code 82380 designates a laboratory assay for beta‑carotene (carotene) measured in serum. Beta‑carotene is a fat‑soluble provitamin converted to vitamin A in the liver; measuring its level can inform clinical evaluation of nutritional status, malabsorption syndromes, or monitoring of supplementation. As a specific biochemical analyte, this code is relevant to hospital and outpatient clinical laboratories and to clinicians managing nutritional, gastrointestinal, and metabolic conditions.
Key payers considered in this overview include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. The publication provides a national perspective on clinical context, coding guidance, and what to expect in payer coverage and billing workflows. Readers will find concise benchmarks for how the service is categorized, typical sites of service, common clinical indications, and operational considerations for laboratory billing. The summary highlights where data is available and notes when input fields were not provided.
This piece is intended for billing managers, laboratory directors, and clinicians who need a clear, national-level reference for CPT code 82380 — covering clinical purpose, payer context, and practical billing information without state‑specific variations.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 82380 measures beta-carotene (carotene) concentration, a photosynthetic orange pigment and fat‑soluble provitamin that is converted to vitamin A in the liver. The test is typically performed on a serum specimen and reports the level of carotene to inform nutritional assessment, vitamin A status, or evaluation of disorders of fat absorption.
Service Type: Laboratory test — quantitative measurement of serum beta‑carotene
Typical Site of Service: Clinical laboratory or hospital laboratory (serum specimen collection)
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A patient presents to an outpatient laboratory or hospital outpatient clinic for serum nutrient assessment after symptoms or clinical findings suggestive of vitamin A deficiency or fat‑soluble vitamin malabsorption. Typical indications include unexplained night blindness, xerophthalmia, malabsorption syndromes (celiac disease, chronic pancreatitis, cystic fibrosis), bariatric surgery follow‑up, or evaluation of suspected hypercarotenemia. The clinician orders measurement of serum beta‑carotene (CPT 82380) to assess provitamin A status and to help distinguish low vitamin A precursor levels from other causes of altered vitamin A metabolism.
Specimen collection is a standard venipuncture with a serum tube, protected from excessive light and centrifuged per laboratory protocol. The specimen is transported to the clinical chemistry laboratory where the analyst performs a quantitative assay for beta‑carotene, typically by high‑performance liquid chromatography or spectrophotometric methods. Results are reported as a concentration (µg/dL or µg/L) with laboratory reference ranges and interpreted in the context of concurrent serum retinol, lipid profile, and clinical findings. Billing is submitted under CPT 82380 with anatomic site and service setting modifiers as applicable. Typical sites of service include outpatient laboratory draw sites, hospital outpatient departments, primary care clinics, nutrition clinics, and specialty gastroenterology or ophthalmology clinics.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
26 | Professional component | Use when billing only the professional interpretation component if applicable (rare for this quantitative lab test). |
TC | Technical component | Use when billing only the technical component (laboratory performs the assay but the ordering physician does not bill professional component). |
90 | Reference (outside) laboratory | Use when the test is performed by an outside reference laboratory and billed by the performing lab. |
59 | Distinct procedural service | Use when this test is distinct from other services on the same day and documentation supports separate testing. |
52 | Reduced services | Use if the assay was partially performed or modified resulting in reduced services. |
53 | Discontinued procedure | Use if specimen collection or testing was started but discontinued for documented clinical reasons. |
22 | Increased procedural services | Use when extraordinary work or complexity beyond the typical assay was required and documented. |
27 | Multiple outpatient hospital E/M visits on same date | Use when separate unrelated outpatient E/M visits occur the same date as the test and require modifier reporting by hospital billing rules. |
78 | Return to operating room for a related procedure | Generally not applicable but included when a related intraoperative event requires repeat laboratory testing tied to the return to OR. |
59 | Distinct procedural service | Use when performed separate and distinct from other procedures (listed again for emphasis if applicable). |
90 | Reference (outside) laboratory | Use when confirming that an outside reference lab performed the test (listed again if needed). |
| Taxonomy Code | Specialty | Notes |
|---|---|---|
207Q00000X | Clinical Laboratory | Primary specialty performing and billing the technical component of CPT 82380. |
207L00000X | Clinical Pathology | Pathologists or clinical chemists involved in test validation and interpretation. |
208D00000X | Gastroenterology | Clinicians ordering the test for malabsorption and nutrition evaluation. |
207P00000X | Public Health/General Preventive Medicine | Providers ordering nutritional surveillance or population screenings. |
207K00000X | Family Medicine | Primary care clinicians ordering baseline or diagnostic nutritional testing. |
Related Diagnoses
| ICD-10 Code | Description | Clinical Relevance |
|---|---|---|
E50.0 | Severe protein‑calorie malnutrition | Malnutrition can impair absorption and hepatic conversion of provitamin A; beta‑carotene testing may be indicated. |
E44.0 | Moderate protein‑calorie malnutrition | Milder malnutrition states where nutritional assessment including beta‑carotene is useful. |
K90.0 | Celiac disease | Intestinal malabsorption can cause fat‑soluble vitamin deficiency; beta‑carotene measurement assesses provitamin A stores. |
K86.1 | Alcoholic chronic pancreatitis | Pancreatic insufficiency leads to fat malabsorption and reduced carotenoid absorption. |
Z98.84 | Bariatric surgery status | Post‑bariatric surgery patients require monitoring of fat‑soluble vitamins including provitamin A. |
H53.8 | Other visual disturbances | Symptoms such as night blindness prompt evaluation of vitamin A status with beta‑carotene measurement. |
Related CPT Codes
| CPT Code | Description | Relationship to This Procedure |
|---|---|---|
82728 | Vitamin A; serum | Often performed alongside CPT 82380 to quantify active vitamin A (retinol) for correlation with beta‑carotene levels. |
82652 | Vitamin D; 25 hydroxy, includes fraction(s), if performed | Frequently ordered in nutritional panels assessing fat‑soluble vitamin status together with beta‑carotene. |
84478 | Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) | Commonly included in broader nutritional deficiency workups with beta‑carotene. |
80061 | Lipid panel; total cholesterol, HDL, and triglycerides | Lipid levels affect fat‑soluble vitamin transport; ordered to contextualize beta‑carotene results. |
82785 | Carotene; total, blood | Related carotenoid assays that may be ordered with CPT 82380 for comprehensive carotenoid profiling. |