Summary & Overview
CPT 84510: Tyrosine Quantitative Assay
CPT code 84510 represents a quantitative laboratory assay to measure tyrosine levels in a patient specimen. As a specific clinical laboratory test, it supports diagnosis and monitoring of metabolic conditions, inborn errors of metabolism, liver dysfunction, and other clinical contexts where amino acid profiling is relevant. Nationally, standardized reporting of such biochemical assays informs laboratory billing consistency, clinical coding accuracy, and coverage determinations across payers.
Key payers covered in this analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find an overview of clinical context for the test, standard sites of service, common billing considerations, and national payer coverage landscape. The publication provides benchmarks for utilization and reimbursement patterns where available, summaries of relevant policy updates affecting laboratory claims, and practical notes on coding and documentation expectations for laboratory services.
The content is intended to help billing professionals, laboratory managers, and clinicians understand how CPT code 84510 is used in practice, what to expect from payer coverage, and where to look for additional policy guidance. Data not available in the input is noted where gaps exist.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 84510 describes a laboratory procedure in which a lab analyst measures the amount of tyrosine in a patient specimen. This is a clinical laboratory test used to quantify the amino acid tyrosine for diagnostic or monitoring purposes.
Service Type: Clinical laboratory test (quantitative amino acid assay)
Typical Site of Service: Clinical laboratory or hospital laboratory specimen processing area
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A typical patient is a pediatric or adult outpatient referred for quantitative measurement of plasma or urine tyrosine levels to evaluate suspected aminoacidopathy, metabolic disorder, liver dysfunction, or to monitor treatment for tyrosinemia. The clinician (often a pediatrician, metabolic specialist, or gastroenterologist) orders the test after abnormal newborn screening, elevated liver enzymes, neurologic symptoms, or developmental delay. The patient presents to an outpatient laboratory or hospital phlebotomy service; a blood specimen (commonly plasma) or urine is collected using standard venipuncture techniques and labeled per laboratory policy. The specimen is transported to the clinical chemistry or biochemical genetics laboratory where a laboratory analyst performs an assay (for example, HPLC, tandem mass spectrometry, or amino acid analyzer) to quantify tyrosine concentration. Results are validated by the laboratory and reported to the ordering provider for interpretation in the context of clinical findings and other metabolic studies. Typical site of service is an outpatient laboratory or hospital clinical laboratory; the service type is quantitative biochemical diagnostic testing performed by a laboratory analyst.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
26 | Professional component | When reporting only the professional interpretation component if separated from the technical component |