Cardiology Question for the Week of December 7, 2020

Question:

We perform cardiac PET scanning at our facility. After cardiologists read the initial exam, the CT images are stripped and sent to a radiologist to read and he generates an additional report. We do not have a charge for the CT radiologist’s component. Is there a CPT® that would allow that?

Answer:

Note that only one physician can or should bill the exam. You cannot charge twice for one exam. The same physician should be able to interpret all the images (both cardiac and non-cardiac). If you use two interpreters, one of the doctors will need to bill and reimburse the other should this continue. It is strongly suggested that you and your physicians read this white paper from the American College of Radiology (ACR): https://www.acr.org/Practice-Management-Quality-Informatics/Legal-Practices/Split-Interpretations