Information about CPT Codes for Echocardiogram and Echocardiography is important to be known by all parties involved regarding Echocardiogram and Echocardiography performed such as cardiovascular doctors, patients, Echocardiogram and Echocardiography technicians, hospital administrators, people working in insurance companies and Medical Billing and Coding staff.

Echocardiogram, often referred to as a cardiac echo or simply an echo, is a sonogram of the heart. (It is not abbreviated as ECG, which in medicine usually refers to an electrocardiogram.) Echocardiography uses standard two-dimensional, three-dimensional, and Doppler ultrasound to create images of the heart.

CPT stands for Current Procedural Terminology. CPT is a set of codes established by AMA (American Medical Association) that categorizes medical services and procedures into three categories. Category I of CPT Codes includes six main sections: Evaluation and Management, Anesthesia, Surgery, Radiology, Pathology and Laboratory, and Medicine. Category II of CPT Codes is only for performance measurement. Category II of CPT Codes is not required to get reimbursement. Lastly, Category III of CPT Codes is for Emerging Technology. CPT Editorial Panel is responsible for reviewing, managing, and updating CPT Codes.

CPT Codes for Echocardiogram and Echocardiography

Echocardiogram is a type of ultrasonography to examine the heart organ. A tool called a transducer, placed on the body, sends high frequency sound waves and picks up the echoes of the sound waves that are bounced back from the internal organs. In the case of Echocardiogram and Echocardiography, the high frequency sound waves bounce back from the heart organ. Echocardiogram and Echocardiography produce an image of the heart on a screen. The image can be moving or still, can also be two dimensional (2D) or three dimensional (3D), depending on the type of the device and which parts of the heart that need to be examined.

CPT Codes for Echocardiogram and Echocardiography

CPT Codes for Echocardiogram and Echocardiography are codes related to Cardiovascular (CPT Code 92950 - 93799) under Medicine Section, in the Category I of CPT Codes. There are several CPT Codes for Echocardiogram and Echocardiography, depending on the techniques and procedures of Echocardiogram and Echocardiography performed.

Transthoracic Echocardiogram (TTE)

There are several different techniques and procedures of Echocardiogram and Echocardiography that call for different CPT Codes for Echocardiogram and Echocardiography. The most commonly used technique of Echocardiogram and Echocardiography is Transthoracic Echocardiogram (TTE). For TTE, the transducer is moved around different parts of chest and upper stomach.

Stress Echocardiogram

Another technique of Echocardiogram and Echocardiography is called Stress Echocardiogram. True to its name, Stress Echocardiogram is an echocardiogram that is conducted after the heart is stressed. In other words, the patient needs to do an exercise or be injected by a medicine to make the heart work or beat faster before an echocardiogram is conducted. The purpose of Stress Echocardiogram is to diagnose the existence of coronary artery disease that may obstruct the flow of blood to the heart.

Doppler Echocardiogram

Doppler Echocardiogram, yet another type of Echocardiogram and Echocardiography, is also related to the flow of blood. By implementing Doppler Echocardiogram, the direction and speed of the blood that flows to and from the heart can be measured.

Transesophageal Echocardiogram (TEE)

The last technique of Echocardiogram and Echocardiography is TEE or Transesophageal Echocardiogram. For TEE, an anesthetic is applied on the back of esophagus or throat, and a transducer in the form of a probe is inserted down the esophagus or the throat. The placement of the transducer probe through the esophagus for TEE makes the image of the heart become clearer than the other techniques of Echocardiogram and Echocardiography since the transducer probe is placed nearer the heart without the blockage from the rib cages and the lungs.

In the other techniques of Echocardiogram and Echocardiography, the transducer is placed outside the body where the body tissues, rib cages, and lungs obstruct the high frequency sound waves produced by the transducer from effectively reaching the heart organ.

Echocardiogram are important tests to be conducted to detect heart problems such as congenital heart disease, coronary artery disease, inflammations or infections on the parts of the heart, abnormality on the heart valves or rhythms, etc.

CPT Codes for Echocardiogram and Echocardiography

The new CPT Codes, the 2015 CPT Codes, have been released in October 2014. The 2015 CPT Codes will be in effect until January 1st, 2015. New Echocardiography CPT Codes changes are not much. The common changes made on CPT Codes are a more detailed description of a code and the changes in the fees and payments which usually increase.
  1. CPT Codes for Transthoracic Echocardiogram (TTE)

    For 2014 CPT Codes for Echocardiogram and Echocardiography, CPT Code 93306, 93308, 93303, 93304, 93350 are the CPT Codes involving TTE or Transthoracic Echocardiogram.

  2. CPT Codes for Stress Echocardiogram

    CPT Code 93015 is the code involving Stress Echocardiogram, and the CPT Codes involving Doppler Echocardiogram are CPT Code 93320, 93321, and 93325. The

  3. CPT Codes for Transesophageal Echocardiogram (TEE)

    CPT Codes involving TEE or Transesophageal Echocardiogram are CPT Code 93312, 93313, 93314, and 93318.
The 2014 CPT Codes for Echocardiogram and Echocardiography only provide information of the standard fees and payments for Echocardiogram and Echocardiography. The actual fees and payments for Echocardiography procedure may be different in different places. The standard fees listed in the 2014 CPT Codes for Echocardiogram done in hospitals are the same as in the physician offices. The standard costs for procedures involving TTE which are around $200 are cheaper than the standard costs for procedures involving TEE which are around $300.

CPT Codes for Echocardiogram and Echocardiography are important especially for cardiovascular physicians, patients who want to check the condition of their hearts, hospitals, and insurance companies. The information about the types of Echocardiogram and Echocardiography, the fees of the procedures, and the payments for the cardiovascular physicians and technicians can be worked out according to the CPT Code used.

With the detailed system of CPT Codes, misunderstandings among the physicians, patients, lab technicians, insurance people, hospital administrators about the procedures and the fees may be reduced or even prevented.

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