Sensitivity Setup

Use the Sensitivity Setup form to configure microbiology susceptibility-related charges that post when antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) is performed on cultures.

Purpose

• Associate a billable charge with susceptibility work performed on culture isolates.
• Trigger charges automatically based on the antibiotics included in the susceptibility panel.
• Standardize billing for Antimicrobial/Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing (AST) across organisms and workflows.

Add or edit a sensitivity charge

• Code: Enter a short, unique identifier for the sensitivity charge.
• Name: Provide a descriptive label (e.g., “AST – Susceptibility Charge”).
• CPT Code: Specify the CPT to bill for the susceptibility work per your payer and method.
• Select Antibiotics: Click the Select Antibiotics button and choose the antibiotics that will trigger this charge when they appear in a susceptibility result.

Then save to activate the configuration.

How triggering works

• When susceptibility results include any of the selected antibiotics, the configured charge will be automatically added to the charges of the order.
• Your site’s billing rules determine whether charges post per isolate, per panel, or per order. Coordinate system administrator to align behavior with policy.

Typical use cases

• Routine AST on positive cultures.
• Reflex susceptibility after organism identification.
• Targeted panels for specific organism groups.

Best practices

• Keep Codes short and consistent; use clear Names that indicate scope (e.g., organism group or method if relevant).
• Confirm CPT selection with compliance and payer policies (method and payer-specific rules may apply).
• Review and update selected antibiotics when panel compositions change.
• Avoid duplicate billing: ensure overlapping panels don’t cause multiple unintended triggers.
• Test changes in a non-production or test order to verify expected posting before go-live.

Troubleshooting

• Charge not posting: verify antibiotics are selected, CPT is populated, and the susceptibility results include one of the mapped antibiotics.
• Unexpected duplicates: review overlapping configurations and billing rules for per-isolate vs. per-panel posting.
• New antibiotics added to panels: update the Select Antibiotics list to keep triggering accurate.