HAP Radiology Billing and Coding Blog

In our two recent articles we covered the effect of changes to codes in the Current Procedural Terminology¹ (CPT) for diagnostic radiology and radiation oncology. Now we turn our attention to CPT code changes for 2016 that affect interventional radiology (IR).  As before, our analysis focuses on the effect those changes will have on practice revenue.  Each practice’s experience will vary based on the volume of procedures that use the affected codes, and a volume-weighted analysis of the entire Medicare fee schedule is recommended to gain a complete understanding of the impact to the practice.

In this blog article that continues our series on how to optimize radiology documentation for maximum reimbursement potential, we address the two most important questions specific to imaging guidance in interventional radiology. Imaging guidance is more and more frequently bundled with the primary interventional procedure, especially with the new CPT[i] codes proposed for 2016. It is, however, still separately billable in certain cases. Regardless of whether it is bundled or not, the radiologist’s documentation for the procedure requires certain elements that thoroughly describe the guidance methods and results. Here are the answers to the two most important questions for your radiology practice to consider.

The annual cycle of revising codes in the Current Procedural Terminology¹ (CPT)® has been completed with the issuance of the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) Final Rule for 2016, and radiology is one of the areas most affected by the changes.  The traditional radiology section of codes, 70010 – 79999, has 60 additions, revisions or deletions and there are even more when the Interventional Radiology (IR) surgical codes are considered.