Saint Luke's News: Randall Thompson, MD, Receives National Recognition from the American Medical Association

Dr. Randall Thompson, a cardiologist at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute, is best known for his work related to the origins of heart disease, whether it be through his research scanning ancient mummies or time spent studying remote tribes in Bolivia. 

However, in February, Dr. Thompson received recognition for his work in another area of medicine, when he was awarded the Burgess Gordon award from the American Medical Association (AMA) for his outstanding contribution to the field of Current Procedural Terminology (CPT).

Presented during the AMA committee’s annual meeting, Thompson was honored for his contributions to Current Procedural Terminology both as an editorial adviser and committee member to the American College of Cardiology and the American Medical Association.

Current Procedural Terminology is the medical code set which is used to report medical, surgical and diagnostic procedures and services to physicians, health insurance companies, and accreditation organizations.  This code set helps provide a universal communication tool to ensure the accurate transmission of data and patient healthcare documentation across the broad spectrum of healthcare providers, organizations and government entities.

Dr. Thompson worked on several high-profile CPT code change applications in 2018 including applications to capture remote physiologic management and codes related to nuclear cardiology.

Dr. Thompson serves as the Chair of the American College of Cardiology Coding Task Force and is the ACC Advisor to the AMA CPT Editorial Panel.  In addition, he also serves as the Vice President of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology.  Dr. Thompson has worked at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City since 1995.

The Burgess Gordon Memorial award is presented annually by the AMA to a CPT advisor who has made outstanding contributions to the CPT process.