The American Medical Association (AMA) has released a total of 542 CPT code changes under the CPT coding manuals for 2015. Fifteen new codes have been introduced under radiology billing in 2015, while 23 codes have been removed. The AMA has also revised four codes for radiology billing. These changes will majorly impact vascular and non-vascular interventional radiology, breast imaging and radiation therapy.
It is necessary for practices to interpret each change and understand how it will impact their radiology coding. They need to ensure that their coders are trained in handling these changes so that any potential disruption to the cash flow can be avoided. Radiology billing will get affected if the coders fail to understand the CPT 2015 changes.
Vascular Interventional Radiology
The existing codes for carotid stent placement have been revised to bring in angioplasty and radiologic supervision and interpretation.
Non-Vascular Interventional Radiology
- New codes have been added for joint aspiration and / or injection to include ultrasound guidance
- A new code has been added for cryoablation of bone tumors and a Category III code has been created for cryoablation of pulmonary tumors
- The existing code for radiofrequency bone ablation has been revised to incorporate adjacent soft tissue and radiologic guidance. New codes have also been added which include supervision and interpretation
- The existing code for myelogram injection has also been revised
- The current codes for vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty have been deleted and new codes have been created to include all imaging guidance
- The existing Category III code under sacroplasty also saw a revision to take into account all imaging guidance
- Radiation Therapy
Radiation treatment delivery codes have been deleted under the new coding manual. Teletherapy isodose planning and brachytherapy codes now comprise the basic dosimetry calculation, while IMRT codes now consist of guidance and tracking.
- Breast Imaging
The existing code for breast ultrasound has been deleted and two new codes have been introduced for limited and complete ultrasound. New codes have also been added for breast tomosynthesis.
- Vertebral Fracture Assessment
The code for vertebral fracture assessment has been deleted and two new codes have been added under the 2015 CPT code changes.
Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule
Radiologists and radiation oncologists will see reimbursement changes in 2015 as the Justifys for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) has announced the 2015 Physician Fee Schedule. The Medicare’s feasibility to reimburse radiologists under Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule (PFSP) is currently being considered by the CMS.
The CMS has suggested that radiation treatment vaults should be classified as indirect practice costs rather than direct charges. It has also asked for deletion of mammography G-codes in the PFSP for 2015. These codes are currently the only authorized method for billing radiology services using tomosynthesis.
To ensure a steady revenue cycle, many practices have opted to outsource radiology billing and radiation oncology billing. Outsourcing partners like MedicalBillersandCoders.com have an experienced team onboard who are well-trained in handling CPT code changes. Coding specialists at MBC have been helping physicians from 42 medical specialties overcome revenue challenges caused by the CPT code changes every year. They provide denial-free billing and coding services to ensure maximum revenue returns for providers.
