# CPT 87070

> Not at a published national rate. CPT 87070 carries status X (statutory exclusion) in the Q2 2014 release. The statutory definition of physician services does not include this item. Treat the blank amount as unpriced, not as $0.

## What it is

An aerobic bacterial culture from a specimen other than urine, blood, or stool - for example a wound swab, abscess drainage, throat, sputum, or fluid from a body cavity. The lab grows whatever bacteria are present and makes a preliminary identification of the organisms that come up. Further definitive identification or drug-sensitivity testing, if the doctor needs it, is done as separate additional work.

## Selected release

- Release: Q2 2014 (2014 B)
- Effective: April 1 – June 30, 2014
- 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: 35.8228
- Formula: `(work_rvu × work_gpci + pe_rvu × pe_gpci + mp_rvu × mp_gpci) × conversion_factor`

## Source and citation

- Source: Physician relative value file (Q2 2014)
- CMS file: https://www.cms.gov/medicare/medicare-fee-for-service-payment/physicianfeesched/downloads/rvu14b.zip
- Parsed file: PPRRVU14_V0324.csv, row 13,786
- Canonical page: https://localishealth.com/cpt/87070/2014/B
- Release-specific citation URL: https://localishealth.com/cpt/87070/2014/B
- Last significant update: 2026-08-04T03:05:19+00:00