RCC Radiation Therapy & Nuclear Medicine Coding 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which CPT code range covers radiation treatment management services?
- 77427–77432 (Correct answer)
- 77261–77263
- 77295–77301
- 77385–77387
Correct answer: 77427–77432
CPT codes 77427–77432 cover radiation treatment management, reported per five treatment sessions.
Question 2: CPT 77261 describes which radiation oncology service?
- Therapeutic radiology treatment planning — simple (Correct answer)
- Radiation treatment management
- Brachytherapy
- Stereotactic radiosurgery
Correct answer: Therapeutic radiology treatment planning — simple
CPT 77261 reports simple therapeutic radiology treatment planning with one treatment area and one port.
Question 3: What does IMRT stand for in radiation oncology coding?
- Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (Correct answer)
- Internal Mammary Radiation Treatment
- Indirect Multifocal Radiation Technique
- Integrated Modality Radiation Targeting
Correct answer: Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy
IMRT stands for Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy, a precise form of external beam radiation therapy.
Question 4: Which CPT code is used to report a PET scan of the whole body?
- 78816 (Correct answer)
- 78813
- 78814
- 78812
Correct answer: 78816
CPT 78816 reports a whole body PET scan performed with concurrent CT for attenuation correction and anatomic localization.
Question 5: In nuclear medicine, what does the term 'planar imaging' refer to?
- Two-dimensional images acquired from a gamma camera (Correct answer)
- Three-dimensional SPECT reconstruction
- PET attenuation correction
- X-ray fluoroscopy
Correct answer: Two-dimensional images acquired from a gamma camera
Planar imaging produces 2D static or dynamic gamma camera images without tomographic reconstruction.
Question 6: Which radiopharmaceutical is most commonly used in thyroid uptake and scan studies?
- Iodine-131 (I-131) (Correct answer)
- Technetium-99m (Tc-99m)
- Thallium-201
- Gallium-67
Correct answer: Iodine-131 (I-131)
Iodine-131 is used for thyroid uptake, scan, and therapeutic ablation due to selective thyroid uptake.
RCC Radiation Therapy & Nuclear Medicine Coding 1
Which CPT code range covers radiation treatment management services?