Portable Ultrasound Equipment

Question:

Our physician’s submitted literature to our administration team related to portable handheld ultrasound equipment for purchase consideration. I was asked if this equipment met CPT requirements for ultrasound. Is this equipment acceptable to use when performing ultrasound guided injections?

Answer:

We recommend you research the website literature for product specifications or contact the vendor. The key will be that the technology must be able to capture and save images in the medical record. The images will need to show the needle localized in the specific anatomic site.

CPT codes that state “with ultrasound guidance” (e.g. Arthrocentesis, aspiration and/or injection, major joint or bursa (eg, shoulder, hip, knee, subacromial bursa); with ultrasound guidance, with permanent recording and reporting) or codes such as CPT code 76942 (Ultrasonic guidance for needle placement (eg, biopsy, aspiration, injection, localization device), imaging supervision and interpretation) will not be reportable if the technology does not have the capacity to save the images to the medical record.