Question:
One of our patients had a lung ventilation-perfusion scan with SPECT/CT Imaging. How is this coded?
Answer:
There is no one good way to code a ventilation and perfusion scan with SPECT/CT. Other than the parathyroid SPECT/CT code (78072), there are no CPT® codes for SPECT/CT procedures. The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) recommends that you report the organ-specific SPECT code with unlisted code 78999. Providers should ask payers how they want this charged.
Unfortunately, there is no organ-specific SPECT code for the respiratory system. We see two options:
- Assign 78582 for the ventilation/perfusion scan and 78999 for the SPECT/CT.OR
- Assign 78803 for the SPECT scan with 78999 for the CT fusion. In this option, you would not report 78582 separately.
CPT® is a registered trademark of the American Medical Association.