Radiology Question for the Week of June 26, 2017

Question:

We were asked to do a tibia/fibula x-ray on an infant.  Is the appropriate code 73592?

Answer:

If you only do the tibia/fibula and not the whole leg (femur plus tib/fib, knee, hip, etc.), then you bill the following code instead of 73592:

The patient’s age doesn’t come into it if all you do is the lower leg.  The patient’s age only matters if you are imaging the whole leg.  Then if the child is an infant, you code 73592; if the child is over 1 year, then you code the individual leg segments (73551 or 73552) plus 73590 (plus the appropriate hip and knee codes if those exams are separately performed).