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 |
|---|---|---|