Cardiology Coding Alert

Question: My cardiologist placed blood pressure cuffs on the patient’s legs and arms at the appropriate levels. They obtained Doppler signals from the arteries in the legs by holding a small probe against the patient’s skin. My cardiologist compared the differences in the pressure between the arms and the ankles. The patient then walked on a treadmill. My cardiologist took the blood pressures immediately after the exercise and at various times during the rest period following exercise. They monitored the symptoms and exercise tolerance as well as the time needed to recover from exercise. How should I report this service?

AAPC Forum Subscriber

Answer: You should report 93924 (Noninvasive physiologic studies of lower extremity arteries, at rest and following treadmill stress testing, (ie, bidirectional Doppler waveform or volume plethysmography recording and analysis at rest with ankle/brachial indices immediately after and at timed intervals following performance of a standardized protocol on a motorized treadmill plus recording of time of onset of claudication or other symptoms, maximal walking time, and time to recovery) complete bilateral study) on your claim.

Coding tips: Never report 93924 in conjunction with noninvasive physiologic study codes 93922 or 93923.

Do not add modifier 50 (Bilateral procedure) to 93924 for a bilateral study because that is already mentioned in the code descriptor.

Don’t miss: Cardiologists perform noninvasive arterial diagnostic procedures such as a 93924 service to examine the rate of blood flow and to assess the presence of blockage in the lower extremity arteries. This category of tests includes plethysmography, transcutaneous oxygen tension measurements (TCOM) and Doppler waveform analysis. A 93924 procedure includes the use of a simple hand-held device.