Radiology Coding Alert

Do you know which CPT^® codes to report?

X-rays are one of the most common imaging exams you’ll encounter in your time as a radiology coder. Put your skills to the test and see if you can answer the following three coding scenarios.

Question 1: A patient presents to a radiology practice with sharp pain on the left side when inhaling. The patient’s primary care physician (PCP) referred the patient for X-rays of the left ribs to evaluate for a fracture. The radiologist captured anteroposterior (AP), lateral, and posteroanterior (PA) chest views of the left ribs. After interpreting the results, the radiologist documented their findings as a left rib contusion.

What procedure code(s) will you assign for this encounter?

Question 2: A 78-year-old female patient presents to a radiology clinic with complaints of pain in her right shoulder blade and right collarbone. The radiologist captures AP and oblique X-ray views of the collarbone and AP and lateral X-ray views of the shoulder blade. After reviewing the images, the provider documents their findings as arthritis of the two body areas.

What code(s) will you assign for the X-rays?

Question 3: A patient presents to a radiology practice for chest and abdominal X-rays following a car accident three days prior. Following the accident, the patient has been experiencing sharp pains in the chest and abdomen. The provider captured AP and lateral chest X-rays, and then the radiologist captured a complete abdomen series with prone and decubitus views.

What code(s) will you assign for the procedure?

Turn to page 6 to check your answers!