Radiology Coding Alert

Beware of overcoding tendon or muscle scan.A remarkable rise in the number of extremity ultrasounds in the last few years brought about one deletion and two additions to CPT that you need to know. CPT 2011 replaces 76880 (Ultrasound, extremity, nonvascular, real-time with image documentation) with the following:76881 -- Ultrasound, extremity, nonvascular, real-time with image documentation; complete76882 -- ... limited, anatomic specific.76882 Guidelines Point You to 'Specific Anatomic Structure'Together with the new codes, CPT also added new guidelines for 76881 and 76882, as was noted in the presentation by Richard Duszak, MD, FACR, FRBMA, RCC, CPT editorial panel member, at the AMA's CPT and RBRVS 2011 Annual Symposium in Chicago.Complete: The guidelines instruct that complete code 76881 includes real time ultrasound scans of a joint. To be complete, the documentation should reference related "muscles, tendons, joint, other soft tissue structures, and any identifiable abnormality."Example: CPT Changes 2011: An Insider's View offers the [...]