# CPT 84165

> Not at a published national rate. CPT 84165 carries status X (statutory exclusion) in the Q1 2021 release. The statutory definition of physician services does not include this item. Treat the blank amount as unpriced, not as $0.

## What it is

A blood test that pulls the proteins in serum apart by running the sample through an electric field, then measures how much protein lands in each band - albumin plus the several globulin groups. The shape of the resulting pattern is the point of the test: a tall, narrow spike suggests a single clone of plasma cells is churning out one antibody in excess. This code is for the serum sample; a separate code covers the same separation performed on urine or other fluids.

## Selected release

- Release: Q1 2021 (2021 A)
- Effective: January 1 – March 31, 2021
- Status indicator: X
- Office (non-facility) national allowed amount: not published
- Facility national allowed amount: not published
- Sequestration: not applied

## RVUs and formula

- Work RVU: not published
- Office (non-facility) practice expense RVU: not published
- Facility practice expense RVU: not published
- Malpractice RVU: not published
- Conversion factor: 34.8931
- Formula: `(work_rvu × work_gpci + pe_rvu × pe_gpci + mp_rvu × mp_gpci) × conversion_factor`

## Source and citation

- Source: Physician relative value file (Q1 2021)
- CMS file: https://www.cms.gov/files/zip/rvu21a-updated-01052021.zip
- Parsed file: PPRRVU21_JAN.csv, row 14,658
- Canonical page: https://localishealth.com/cpt/84165/2014/B
- Release-specific citation URL: https://localishealth.com/cpt/84165/2021/A
- Last significant update: 2026-08-04T03:10:16+00:00