Summary & Overview
CPT 87077: Definitive Identification of Aerobic Isolate
CPT code 87077 represents definitive laboratory identification of an aerobic microbial isolate, typically performed to determine the organism at the species level after a presumptive identification. This test is a key diagnostic step in microbiology that informs targeted antimicrobial therapy, infection control decisions, and public health reporting, making it nationally significant across inpatient and outpatient laboratory settings.
Key payers covered in this analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise overview of the clinical context for CPT code 87077, typical site-of-service considerations, and what stakeholders commonly review when assessing use of the code: coding and billing practice implications, payer coverage patterns, and how the code fits into laboratory service lines. The publication also summarizes benchmarks and policy-relevant updates that affect laboratory coding and reimbursement for organism identification services.
This summary is written for a national audience and focuses on the clinical and billing dimensions of CPT code 87077, providing a practical reference for coders, laboratory managers, and policy analysts. Data not available in the input for detailed payer-specific rates, associated taxonomies, and ICD-10 mappings.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 87077 describes laboratory work in which a lab analyst performs additional tests on a presumptively identified aerobic isolate to definitively identify the organism, typically to the species level. This service represents confirmatory or species-level identification following an initial presumptive identification.
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Service type: Microbiological organism identification (definitive/species-level identification)
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Typical site of service: Clinical microbiology laboratory or hospital laboratory performing organism identification from aerobic cultures.
Data not available in the input for associated taxonomies, ICD-10 diagnoses, and related codes.
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A typical patient scenario involves an adult hospitalized with a suspected bacterial bloodstream infection. The patient developed fever, leukocytosis, and hemodynamic changes; blood cultures collected in the emergency department grew an aerobic organism on preliminary Gram stain. The laboratory performs initial culture and presumptive identification; when a presumptive aerobic isolate requires definitive identification to the species level, a lab analyst performs additional biochemical, phenotypic, or mass spectrometry testing. The workflow: specimen arrives in microbiology, culture is incubated on appropriate media, colony morphology and Gram stain provide a presumptive ID, then the lab runs confirmatory testing (for example, automated identification panels, MALDI-TOF, or biochemical assays). Results are reported to the ordering clinician and infection prevention; definitive identification can guide targeted antimicrobial therapy and epidemiologic surveillance. Typical site of service is the hospital clinical microbiology laboratory or a reference laboratory supporting inpatient and outpatient facilities.
Coding Specifications
- The following modifiers are most relevant to laboratory identification services and are selected from the provided list. Use the CMS definitions when applying modifiers.
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
26 | Professional component | Use when reporting only the professional component of a service if split billing applies (rare for microbiology) |