RCC Radiation Therapy & Nuclear Medicine Coding 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: CPT code 77336 reports which radiation oncology service?
- Continuing medical physics consultation — weekly (Correct answer)
- IMRT planning
- Brachytherapy applicator placement
- Radiation field setup
Correct answer: Continuing medical physics consultation — weekly
CPT 77336 describes continuing medical physics consultation reported weekly during radiation therapy.
Question 2: What is brachytherapy in radiation oncology?
- Radiation from radioactive sources placed inside or adjacent to the tumor (Correct answer)
- External beam radiation at a distance
- Stereotactic radiosurgery
- Photon beam therapy
Correct answer: Radiation from radioactive sources placed inside or adjacent to the tumor
Brachytherapy involves placing radioactive seeds or sources directly inside or next to the tumor.
Question 3: A myocardial perfusion SPECT study at rest and stress is reported with which CPT code?
- 78452 (Correct answer)
- 78451
- 78453
- 78454
Correct answer: 78452
CPT 78452 reports myocardial perfusion imaging using SPECT with multiple studies (rest and stress).
Question 4: Which CPT code describes stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) delivery?
- 77373 (Correct answer)
- 77371
- 77372
- 77385
Correct answer: 77373
CPT 77373 reports SBRT treatment delivery, per fraction.
Question 5: In nuclear medicine, what is the purpose of attenuation correction in PET/CT imaging?
- To correct for photon absorption by tissue and improve quantitative accuracy (Correct answer)
- To reduce radiation dose to the patient
- To enhance image resolution on the CT component
- To subtract background noise from the PET image
Correct answer: To correct for photon absorption by tissue and improve quantitative accuracy
Attenuation correction adjusts for photon loss due to tissue absorption, improving the accuracy of PET quantification.
Question 6: Bone scan CPT code 78300 describes which type of study?
- Bone and/or joint imaging — limited area (Correct answer)
- Whole body bone scan
- SPECT bone scan
- Three-phase bone scan
Correct answer: Bone and/or joint imaging — limited area
CPT 78300 reports a bone scan limited to a single area of the skeleton.
RCC Radiation Therapy & Nuclear Medicine Coding 2
CPT code 77336 reports which radiation oncology service?