These terms nail down your diabetic retinopathy imaging code choice.
In CPT® 2011 in the place of your old familiar SCODI code, you’ll find three area specific codes. Check out these tips on finding the correct code for imaging as well as DR services.
Code 92135 is being split into three more specific codes. The scanning computerized ophthalmic diagnostic imaging or SCODI code got used a lot in 2010 and was a high volume code. CPT 2011 deletes the code. Pick the new code based on the particular area the imaging is performed on as follows:
| Area | CPT 2011 Code | Descriptor |
| Front of the eye | 92132 | Scanning computerized ophthalmic diagnostic imaging, anterior segment, with interpretation and report, unilateral or bilateral |
| Optic nerve | 92133 | Scanning computerized ophthalmic diagnostic imaging, posterior segment, with interpretation and report, unilateral or bilateral; optic nerve |
| Retina | 92134 | Scanning computerized ophthalmic diagnostic imaging, posterior segment, with interpretation and report, unilateral or bilateral; retina |
92227 Vs. 92228: Look at DR Status
Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness. Yet early detection makes the condition correctable 95 percent of the time. Imaging retina center technicians can easily look at a photo and read it. The ophthalmologist can then determine if the patient has DR, the stage it’s in, and the proper course of treatment.
Equate the term “Detection” that’s in new diabetic retinopathy imaging code 92227 (Remote imaging for detection of retinal diseases [e.g., retinopathy in a patient with diabetes] with analysis and report under physician supervision, unilateral or bilateral]) with “screening” for diabetic retinopathy. “Use this code when you don’t know the patient has it, you’re just looking for it,” explained George A. Williams, MD, American Academy of Ophthalmology, AMA/Specialty Society Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC) Member in the symposium’s “Ophthalmology” session co-presented with L. Neal Freeman, MD, MBA, CCS-P, FACS, American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, AMA CPT Advisory Committee Member at the CPT and RBRVS 2011 Annual Symposium in Chicago. When the patient has active DR that you are managing, use 92228 (Remote imaging for monitoring and management of active retinal diseases [e.g., diabetic retinopathy] with physician review, interpretation and report, unilateral or bilateral]) for the imaging.
Check out Opthalmology Coding Alert for all your CPT 2011 eye coding updates.