Cardiology Coding Alert

Question: My cardiologist performed a tilt table test. During the tilt table test, my cardiologist monitored the patient’s electrocardiogram (EKG) for any changes in heart rate, and they also monitored the patient’s blood pressure. The patient let my cardiologist know when they experienced any light-headedness or faintness during the test. Since the patient did feel symptoms of syncope, my cardiologist laid the table flat to help the patient regain consciousness. My cardiologist owns the tilt table equipment. Which CPT^® and ICD-10-CM codes should I report on my claim?

Alabama Subscriber

Answer: When your cardiologist performs a tilt table test, you should report code 93660 (Evaluation of cardiovascular function with tilt table evaluation, with continuous ECG monitoring and intermittent blood pressure monitoring, with or without pharmacological intervention). The diagnosis code for this scenario would be R55 (Syncope and collapse).

Coding tip: From the code descriptor, you can see that 93660 includes continuous ECG monitoring, intermittent blood pressure monitoring, and administration of medications, so you cannot report these services separately.

Important: Code 93660 is split into professional and technical components. You must check the medical documentation to see if your cardiologist owns the tilt table equipment or not. In this case, your cardiologist does own the tilt table equipment, so you should report the global code 93660.

Tilt table test defined: In a tilt table test, the patient lies strapped to a special table while the cardiologist slowly tilts the table slowly upward. This “tilt” simulates suddenly transitioning from a lying down position to a standing up position, helping to trigger the patient’s symptoms of syncope.