Wiki 93975 vs 78761 vs 76870?

[nicoleysmith]

I work in a very small outpatient clinic and we don't have a coder who specializes in radiology. We saw a patient who received an ultrasound of the testicles, and the radiology department is requesting we bill 93975, 78761, and 76870. I don't understand the difference between these?

93975 in the CPT book reads: "duplex scan of arterial inflow and venous outflow of abdominal, pelvic, scrotal contents and/or retro-peritoneal organs; complete study"

78761 in the CPT book reads: "testicular imaging with vascular flow"

76870 in the CPT book reads: "ultrasound, scrotum and contents"

The radiology report reads: "duplex doppler color flow sonography, 2d ultrasound of vascular anatomy, and doppler spectral analysis was performed" followed by a description of the ultrasound results.

Normally if we perform an ultrasound plus a doppler study, we would add the doppler + the ultrasound code, but 78761 sounds like it includes the doppler - but then I don't understand when you would use 93975 for a scrotal doppler? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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[tatercawley]

93975/76 - A duplex includes B-mode 2D/grayscale, color doppler and spectral doppler. All three must be performed and documented in order to bill for a duplex. This should have the mention of velocities and waveforms in the report.

76870 - If a full grayscale scrotal u/s is performed and all components are documented it can also be coded in addition to the duplex. This should include measurements/documentation of the testes, epididymides and blood vessels/blood flow.

78761 - is a Nuclear medicine study and will mention the words scintigraphy, radiopharmaceuticals or something along those lines.

Hope this helps!

 

[nicoleysmith]

Thank you very much!