Radiology Coding Alert

Question: A recent article on noninvasive physiologic studies recommended reporting two units of 93923 for multiple-level bilateral studies of the arms and legs. My Medicare carrier told me 93923 has an MUE of one. So how should I report both arm and leg studies? Tennessee Subscriber Answer: According to the CPT Assistant article cited (June 2001), the AMA supports reporting 93923 (Noninvasive physiologic studies of upper or lower extremity arteries, multiple levels or with provocative functional maneuvers, complete bilateral study [e.g.,segmental blood pressure measurements, segmental Doppler waveform analysis, segmental volume plethysmography, segmental transcutaneous oxygen tension measurements, measurements with postural provocative tests, measurements with reactive hyperemia]) twice when you perform "multiple level segmental Doppler waveform analysis of both the lower and upper limbs." You should report the code twice according to your payer's preference. CMS does list a Medically Unlikely Edit (MUE) for 93923 in the public file at www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalCorrectCodInitEd. [...]