Oncology & Hematology Coding Alert

Question: I know we can only bill one port film per week of treatment management regardless of the number of portals treated. Occasionally we do port films at the beginning of treatment (port and treat on same day) as our verification simulation. In this instance is it OK to charge one port per field we verify?

South Dakota Subscriber

Answer: The initial service is either port films (77417, Therapeutic radiology port film[s]) or a verification simulation (77280-77295, Therapeutic radiology simulation-aided field setting ...), but not both -- the films are either port films or simulation films.

Although different carriers may have different policies, many allow only one unit of 77417 per five-fraction week of therapy.

Key: Code 77417 is for a week of port film services -- it is not necessarily paid for each port film. Under CPT coding convention the -film(s)- means whether there is one or 20, you report the code with one unit.

The AMA clarified this in the February 2006 CPT Assistant, saying that -port films are reported by the facility, once per five fractions or once per week of treatment management per patient, regardless of the number of films required or portals evaluated.-