Restructured BETOS Classification for HCPCS

betos() allows the user to group HCPCS codes into clinically meaningful categories based on the original Berenson-Eggers Type of Service (BETOS) classification.

Usage

betos(
  hcpcs = NULL,
  rbcs = NULL,
  category = NULL,
  subcategory = NULL,
  family = NULL,
  procedure = NULL,
  tidy = TRUE,
  ...
)

Arguments

hcpcs

< character > HCPCS or CPT code

rbcs

< character > RBCS ID

category

< character > RBCS Category Description, e.g.

Anesthesia
DME
E&M
Imaging
Other
Procedure
Test
Treatment

subcategory

< character > RBCS Subcategory Description

family

< character > RBCS Family Description

procedure

< character > Whether the HCPCS code is a Major ("M"), Other ("O"), or Non-Procedure code ("N").

tidy

< boolean > // default: TRUE Tidy output

...

Empty

Value

A tibble with the columns:

Field	Description
`hcpcs`	HCPCS or CPT code
`rbcs_id`	RBCS Identifier
`category`	RBCS Category
`subcategory`	RBCS Subcategory
`family`	RBCS Family
`procedure`	RBCS Major Procedure Indicator
`hcpcs_start_date`	Date HCPCS Code was added
`hcpcs_end_date`	Date HCPCS Code was no longer effective
`rbcs_start_date`	Earliest Date that the RBCS ID was effective
`rbcs_end_date`	Latest Date that the RBCS ID can be applied

From BETOS to RBCS

The Restructured BETOS Classification System (RBCS) is a taxonomy that allows researchers to group Medicare Part B healthcare service codes into clinically meaningful categories and subcategories.

Based on the original Berenson-Eggers Type of Service (BETOS) classification created in the 1980s, it includes notable updates such as Part B non-physician services and undergoes annual updates by a technical expert panel of researchers and clinicians.

The general framework for grouping service codes into the new RBCS taxonomy largely follows the same structure of BETOS. Like BETOS, the RBCS groups HCPCS codes into categories, subcategories, and families – with categories as the most aggregate level and families as the more granular level.

All Medicare Part B service codes, including non-physician services, are assigned to a 6-character RBCS taxonomy code.

Update Frequency

Annually

Examples

if (FALSE) { # interactive()
betos(hcpcs = "0001U")
betos(category = "Test")
betos(subcategory = "General Laboratory")
betos(family = "Immunoassay")
betos(procedure = "M")
betos(family = "No RBCS Family")
betos(rbcs = "TL001N")
}