Clinical Documentation: Connecting the Dots | Join Webinar & Earn 1 AAPC® CEURegister Now >>

Regular Price: $24.95

Ask An Expert Starting at $24.95
Have a medical coding or compliance question? Don’t sacrifice your valuable time to endless research. Choose Ask an Expert to get clear answers from the TCI SuperCoder team. And here’s a tip for the budget-conscious: Select the 12-question pack to get the best rate per question!
  1. Home
  2. Ask An Expert
  3. Radiology Coding
  4. renal and scrotal doppler studies 93975, 93976

Browse Past Questions By Specialty

+View all

renal and scrotal doppler studies 93975, 93976

Kathy Posted Mon 19th of November, 2018 11:09:14 AM
When a physician is dictating Doppler studies I know that they must include, grey scale, spectral Doppler and color flow. Are they required to state arterial inflow and venous outflow in order for it to be considered a Doppler? what are some synonymous terms that can document arterial inflow and venous outflow. Can you supply me with documentation that I can present to my physicians?
SuperCoder Answered Tue 20th of November, 2018 02:20:08 AM

Hi Kathy,

Thank you for the Question.

A duplex scan is a noninvasive vascular diagnostic study--an ultrasonic scanning procedure display of the following:

• the two-dimensional structure of the target analysis and the vessels' motion with time

• the Doppler ultrasonic signal of the flowing blood.

Documentation of the results of all duplex scan studies should reflect the assessment of flow with color and recording a spectral waveform. Spectral Doppler in the radiologist’s documentation should have information regarding Spectral, Flow velocity, RI, Resistance, Wave, Pulse(d), Resistive index

 

For example, documentation that would support billing a Duplex scan CPT code would be, “Duplex scan was performed using B-Mode/gray scale imaging and Doppler spectral analysis and color flow.”

 

• a Limited Duplex Scan, the documentation must at least include: Color and Spectral Doppler

• Complete Duplex Scan, the documentation must include: Arterial inflow & Venous Outflow and Color & Spectral Doppler

 

Duplex Scans of the abdomen, pelvic, scrotum and/or retroperitoneum can also be performed and reported as complete or limited studies.  Complete studies require that the radiologist examine and document both sides of a paired organ, such as the ovaries.

 

Note:

• If flow is not visualized (ie, torsion) the documentation should reflect that the spectral Doppler evaluation revealed no flow.

• Documentation should reflect the information about waveform that appears normal.

Hope this helps!

Related Topics