# CPT 87811

> Not at a published national rate. CPT 87811 carries status X (statutory exclusion) in the Q4 2022 release. The statutory definition of physician services does not include this item. Treat the blank amount as unpriced, not as $0.

## What it is

The rapid COVID test read by eye - swab material goes onto a cassette and a visible line appears within minutes if viral proteins are present. It looks for pieces of the virus rather than its genetic material, which makes it quick and cheap but less sensitive than PCR, particularly early in illness or in someone without symptoms. A positive is generally trusted; a negative in a symptomatic person is often repeated or confirmed with a molecular test.

## Selected release

- Release: Q4 2022 (2022 D)
- Effective: October 1 – December 31, 2022
- 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: 34.6062
- Formula: `(work_rvu × work_gpci + pe_rvu × pe_gpci + mp_rvu × mp_gpci) × conversion_factor`

## Source and citation

- Source: Physician relative value file (Q4 2022)
- CMS file: https://www.cms.gov/files/zip/rvu22d.zip
- Parsed file: PPRRVU22_OCT.csv, row 15,690
- Canonical page: https://localishealth.com/cpt/87811/2021/A
- Release-specific citation URL: https://localishealth.com/cpt/87811/2022/D
- Last significant update: 2026-08-04T03:12:03+00:00