Radiology Coding Alert

Question: What are the correct CPT Codes the professional and facility components for billing transcranial Doppler procedures? This needs to be performed on sickle cell patients at least once a year to detect strokes.

Kansas Subscriber

Answer: Code 93886 (transcranial Doppler study of the intracranial arteries; complete study) would be used for billing a complete study. Modifier -26 would be added for the professional component, and -TC (technical component) would be added for the facility component. If a limited transcranial Doppler ultrasound were performed, the correct code is 93888 (limited study), with the modifiers assigned as described.

This procedure is used to measure cerebrovascular blood velocities. A safe and reliable procedure, pulses of ultrasound are directed toward vascular formations at the base of the skull. The velocity of the matter is reflected in the frequent shift in the sound and images can be reconstructed from the time-dependent intesnity of the reflected sound. This allows the physician to visualize a vascular lesion. By changing the transducer location, angle and depth setting, velocities from the cerebral arteries, internal cartiods, basilar and vertebral arteries can be sampled.

Answers to these questions provided by Cindy McMahan, CPC, an independent coding consultant based in Albany, Wisc.