Physicians as Assistants at Surgery Report

The ACS, in collaboration with 15 other national specialty surgical organizations, has published the tenth edition of the Physicians as Assistants at Surgery report, a study first undertaken in 1994. This study reviews all procedures listed in the “Surgery” section of the 2023 American Medical Association’s Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) coding manual to determine whether the operation requires the use of a physician as an assistant at surgery: (1) almost always; (2) almost never; or (3) some of the time. Please note that an indication that a physician would “almost never” be needed to assist at surgery for some procedures does NOT imply that a physician to assist at surgery is never needed. The decision to request that a physician assist at surgery remains the responsibility of the primary surgeon and, when necessary, should be a payable service.