Surgical Pathology Codes (88300-88309)
CPT codes for surgical pathology specimen examination, stratified by specimen complexity.
1 min read · Last reviewed May 23, 2026
At a glance
- Category
- Billing
- Primary sources
- 2
- Workspace handoff
- revenue audit →
Where this comes up
This shows up in revenue-cycle work — claim scrubbing, charge entry, posting, A/R follow-up, and month-end close. Billers and practice managers hit this term when reconciling a payment, working a denial queue, or auditing why a claim aged past 60 days.
Full definition
What it is in practice
88305 is the most commonly billed level. The MUE for 88305 is set high but billing units must match the number of unique specimens.
How it shows up in your practice
Track specimen counts per encounter to validate the units billed. Audit against pathology reports.
Sources
- CMS — HCPCS Level IIhttps://www.cms.gov/medicare/coding-billing/healthcare-common-procedure-system-hcpcs-level-ii-coding-procedures
- CMS — Physician Fee Schedulehttps://www.cms.gov/medicare/payment/fee-schedules/physician
Audit pathology billing in Revenue Audit
Open revenue audit →Related terms
- BillingMUE (Medically Unlikely Edits)CMS-set maximum units of service that a provider would report under most circumstances for a single beneficiary on a single date of service.
- BillingModifier 26CPT modifier indicating the professional component of a procedure.
- BillingModifier TCHCPCS modifier indicating the technical component of a procedure.
D3rx is a healthcare-billing and compliance research aid maintained by D3rx Inc. Articles are drafted by an LLM (Anthropic Claude) against primary HHS, OCR, CMS, eCFR, NIST, and state-regulator publications, and reviewed for restraint and source fidelity by the D3rx team.
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Related across the archive
- GlossaryModifier 26CPT modifier indicating the professional component of a procedure.
- GlossaryModifier TCHCPCS modifier indicating the technical component of a procedure.
- GlossaryMUE (Medically Unlikely Edits)CMS-set maximum units of service that a provider would report under most circumstances for a single beneficiary on a single date of service.
- GlossaryCardiac Stress Test (93015-93018)CPT codes for cardiac stress testing, with separate codes for the global service, supervision, and interpretation.
- GlossaryCharge CaptureThe process of identifying and recording every billable service furnished during a patient encounter.
- GlossaryClean Claim RatePercentage of claims accepted by the payer on first submission without edits or rejections.
- GlossaryConversion FactorThe dollar value multiplied by the geographically-adjusted Relative Value Unit to determine the Medicare-allowable amount for a service.
- BillingAWV + Problem Visit Same Day: How to Bill CorrectlyYes, you can bill AWV and a problem visit the same day. Here's how to do it correctly with modifier -25.
This glossary entry is a research aid for billing and compliance staff. It does not provide legal, medical, or financial advice and does not replace counsel. References cited link to primary sources at HHS, OCR, CMS, eCFR, NIST, and the relevant payer or industry body.