Radiology Coding Alert

Question: I have a report where a radiologist dictated that they performed two-view X-rays of both of the patient’s hands and wrists to evaluate for traumatic fractures of body areas.

What CPT^® codes should I use to report the procedure?

Minnesota Subscriber

Answer: You’ll assign 73120 (Radiologic examination, hand; 2 views) and 73100 (Radiologic examination, wrist; 2 views) to report the bilateral two-view hand and wrist X-rays. The codes will also need to be appended with modifiers, such as RT (Right side)/LT (Left side) or 50 (Bilateral procedure) to indicate the X-rays were captured on both sides of the patient’s body. Review your individual payer’s preferences to check which modifiers are required for reimbursement.

Some coders may be tempted to assign 77077 (Joint survey, single view, 2 or more joints (specify)), but that is an incorrect choice. Code 77077 is typically performed to evaluate the hand joints for osteoarthritis. Also, this code features a bilateral surgery indicator of “0,” which means the code cannot be billed for bilateral procedures since the procedure is inherently performed unilaterally.