Radiology Coding Alert

Question: I have a report for TCOM, but it doesn't indicate an ABI was performed. May I still report 93922?

Illinois Subscriber

Answer: According to the AMA, you should report 93998 (Unlisted noninvasive vascular diagnostic study) for the situation you describe. You'll find this instruction in a coding clarification published in the September 2012 CPT® Assistant.

If the provider had performed ankle/brachial indices (ABI) as well as transcutaneous oxygen tension measurements (TCOM), then you could report 93922 (Limited bilateral noninvasive physiologic studies of upper or lower extremity arteries, [e.g., for lower extremity: ankle/brachial indices at distal posterior tibial and anterior tibial/dorsalis pedis arteries plus bidirectional, Doppler waveform recording and analysis at 1-2 levels, or ankle/brachial indices at distal posterior tibial and anterior tibial/dorsalis pedis arteries plus volume plethysmography at 1-2 levels, or ankle/brachial indices at distal posterior tibial and anterior tibial/dorsalis pedis arteries with transcutaneous oxygen tension measurements at 1-2 levels]).