Brighten Your Understanding of Coding Sunrise X-ray Views
Question: What CPT® code should we use for bilateral sunrise views of knees? The patient was sitting, not standing, for the examination and this was the only view captured. Missouri Subscriber Answer: A sunrise view is usually part of a series that includes anteroposterior (AP), lateral, and sunrise views. However, you state that the radiologist only captured the sunrise view of both knees while the patient was sitting. This means that you can only count one view for billing purposes. Right off the bat, we can eliminate 73565 (Radiologic examination, knee; both knees, standing, anteroposterior) from the coding options because the patient wasn’t standing nor did the radiologist capture an AP view. The next code to examine is 73562 (Radiologic examination, knee; 3 views), but this code descriptor includes three views. Unfortunately, this needs to be eliminated from your choices as well. Lastly, we have 73560 (Radiologic examination, knee; 1 or 2 views). This code covers knee X-rays of one to two views, which means it is the best option for your case. You may need to append laterality modifiers, such as 50 (Bilateral procedure) or LT (Left side)/RT (Right side), to the code to indicate the procedure was performed on both knees. Mike Shaughnessy, BA, CPC, Production Editor, AAPC
