Oncology & Hematology Coding Alert

Question: How do we document a special physics consultation with a radiation physicist?

Michigan Subscriber

Answer: A physician often requests this kind of consultation when a patient with special circumstances, such as a pregnant patient, is due to undergo radiation therapy. The treating provider will ask the radiation physicist to design a course of treatment for the patient that considers such factors as dosage and blocking to accommodate those circumstances.

To report the services, you’ll use CPT^® code 77370 (Special medical radiation physics consultation). For documentation to support the code, you will need a request that addresses the particular problem and/or needs of a specified patient. In other words, you cannot simply use a generic request form, and your provider cannot simply check a box in the patient’s chart that indicates they have requested the consult.

You will also need a copy of the physicist’s report that the physicist has signed and dated along with a dated acknowledgment that your provider has approved the course of treatment the physicist has outlined in the report. The report can, but does not have to, be accompanied by a summary of the consultation. But the report itself should be appended to the patient’s chart.