Interventional Radiology: Vascular Diagnostic and Therapeutic Procedures

For the most part, a system of component coding is used in these cases, in order to accurately describe the separately identifiable surgical and imaging services performed by the radiologist. In this way, the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code structure recognizes that there can be variations in the services performed during diagnostic angiography and vascular transcatheter therapies, whether by virtue of more than one physician being involved during the encounter, or by combinations of services that will differ among patients. CPT component codes reflect valuation after a determination has been made as to exactly what service is described by, and included in each code. Any vascular diagnostic or therapeutic procedure may be coded with one or more surgical codes and with one or more imaging codes (commonly referred to as radiological supervision and interpretation [RS&I]). All-inclusive surgical codes also exist in CPT for use when the procedure has been valued to include all of its surgical and imaging aspects.