PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - William D Donovan
AU  - Thabele M Leslie-Mazwi
AU  - Ezequiel Silva III
AU  - Henry H Woo
AU  - Gregory N Nicola
AU  - Robert M Barr
AU  - Jacqueline A Bello
AU  - Raymond Tu
AU  - Joshua A Hirsch
TI  - Diagnostic carotid and cerebral angiography: a historical summary of the evolving changes in coding and reimbursement in a complex procedure family
AID  - 10.1136/neurintsurg-2014-011416
DP  - 2014 Nov 01
TA  - Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery
PG  - 712--717
VI  - 6
IP  - 9
4099  - http://jnis.bmj.com/content/6/9/712.short
4100  - http://jnis.bmj.com/content/6/9/712.full
SO  - J NeuroIntervent Surg2014 Nov 01; 6
AB  - Carotid and cerebral angiography have been a mainstay of neurointerventional and neuroradiologic practice for years. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC) initiatives have compelled the professional societies to bundle component codes under threat of unilateral CMS revision and revaluation. Code bundling usually results in a decrease in the professional Relative Value Unit (RVU) valuation, and thus the MD reimbursement. The year 2013 saw a dramatic revision to the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code set that defines carotid and cerebral procedures. This paper reviews the process that led to that code set being revised and estimates the impact on professional reimbursement. We show the current and previous carotid angiography CPT codes and use clinical examples to assess professional RVU valuation before and after code revision.