The American Medical Association is launching an initiative to develop and deploy SNOMED CT to CPT terminology mappings that support electronic prior authorization.
The project aims to reduce administrative burden for physicians and help patients receive timely care by connecting SNOMED CT clinical concepts with CPT procedural coding, according to a July 14 AMA news release. It supports the CMS Health Tech Ecosystem’s push to modernize prior authorization and improve interoperability ahead of a Jan. 1, 2027, compliance deadline for FHIR-based prior authorization workflows.
The AMA is inviting health plans, EHR developers, clearinghouses, prior authorization vendors and standards organizations to join collaborative testing, technical sessions and workflow feedback efforts, according to the release.
The initiative will first target the prior authorization scenarios with the greatest potential to cut administrative burden, aligning with FHIR implementation approaches, Da Vinci implementation guides and CMS interoperability priorities.
In the coming months, the AMA will convene stakeholders for technical working sessions, pilot projects and educational forums to refine the mappings before broad adoption.
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