# CPT 29848

> Medicare paid $524.89 for CPT 29848 in the office (non-facility) setting and $524.89 in a facility under the Q1 2016 Physician Fee Schedule, effective January 2016. These are the national allowed amounts before the ~2% sequestration cut and before locality (GPCI) adjustment. This is a 0.3% decrease from the previous quarter.

## What it is

Surgery to relieve pressure on the median nerve at the wrist by dividing the thick band of tissue that forms the roof of the carpal tunnel. The surgeon works through one or two small punctures using a tiny camera and a cutting blade, rather than opening the palm the way traditional open release does. Freeing that band gives the nerve and tendons more room, which eases the numbness and tingling of carpal tunnel syndrome. The endoscopic route generally means a smaller wound and a shorter recovery than the open approach, and it is chosen instead of, not in addition to, open release.

## Selected release

- Release: Q1 2016 (2016 A)
- Effective: January 1 – March 31, 2016
- Status indicator: A
- Office (non-facility) national allowed amount: $524.89
- Facility national allowed amount: $524.89
- Sequestration: not applied

## RVUs and formula

- Work RVU: 6.39
- Office (non-facility) practice expense RVU: 7.06
- Facility practice expense RVU: 7.06
- Malpractice RVU: 1.21
- Conversion factor: 35.8043
- Formula: `(work_rvu × work_gpci + pe_rvu × pe_gpci + mp_rvu × mp_gpci) × conversion_factor`

## Source and citation

- Source: Physician relative value file (Q1 2016)
- CMS file: https://www.cms.gov/medicare/medicare-fee-for-service-payment/physicianfeesched/downloads/rvu16a.zip
- Parsed file: PPRRVU16_V0122.csv, row 6,972
- Canonical page: https://localishealth.com/cpt/29848/2016/A
- Release-specific citation URL: https://localishealth.com/cpt/29848/2016/A
- Last significant update: 2026-08-04T03:06:29+00:00