ICD-10-PCS Code For Spine: Procedure Code Group Overview

The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Procedure Coding System (ICD-10-PCS) code group CP15 includes procedures performed to obtain planar nuclear medicine images of the spine by introducing radioactive materials and capturing single-plane emissions. These ICD-10-PCS codes are used for inpatient documentation when a radiopharmaceutical is administered for single-plane diagnostic imaging of the spinal column. Accurate coding within the ICD-10-PCS CP15 group is essential for proper inpatient reimbursement, as it captures the specific imaging procedure performed and supports clinical documentation accuracy.

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Spine Planar Nuclear Medicine Imaging Procedure Overview

This procedure group includes planar nuclear medicine imaging procedures of the spine that introduce radioactive materials into the body to capture single-plane images from emitted radiation. These procedures target the musculoskeletal system, specifically the spine, and involve administration of radiopharmaceuticals and external detection to create diagnostic images. Accurate ICD-10-PCS coding is important for inpatient reimbursement because it documents the specific imaging modality and anatomical focus used for diagnosis and case assignment.

Code Attributes

Character	ICD-10-PCS Category	Code Group Details
C	Section	Nuclear Medicine
P	Body System	Musculoskeletal System
1	Operation	Planar Nuclear Medicine Imaging
5	Body Part	Spine

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ICD-10-PCS Code For Spine: Procedure Code Group Overview

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Spine Planar Nuclear Medicine Imaging Procedure Overview

Code Attributes

Character	ICD-10-PCS Category	Code Group Details
C	Section	Nuclear Medicine
P	Body System	Musculoskeletal System
1	Operation	Planar Nuclear Medicine Imaging
5	Body Part	Spine

When to Use

Use a code from this group when a radiopharmaceutical is administered specifically for single-plane nuclear medicine imaging of the spinal column during an inpatient encounter. These codes apply when the imaging is performed to evaluate spinal pathology using planar detection of emitted radiation rather than tomographic or cross-sectional nuclear techniques.

ICD-10-PCS Codes

2 rows

ICD-10-PCS Code	Description
CP151ZZ	Planar Nuclear Medicine Imaging of Spine using Technetium 99m (Tc-99m)
CP15YZZ	Planar Nuclear Medicine Imaging of Spine using Other Radionuclide

Typical Clinical Scenarios

An elderly patient with known metastatic prostate cancer is admitted for progressive low back pain and new focal neurologic deficits; concern for metastatic involvement of the vertebral bodies prompts inpatient diagnostic workup to localize lesions and assess for multifocal skeletal disease. A planar nuclear medicine spine study is performed after administration of a radiopharmaceutical to detect areas of increased osteoblastic activity along the spinal column. Typical codes: CP151ZZ, CP15YZZ
A middle-aged patient presents to the hospital after a fall with persistent midline thoracic spine pain and equivocal plain radiographs; clinicians require a sensitive functional assessment to identify occult vertebral fractures or bone injury. A planar spinal nuclear medicine scan using an injected radionuclide is obtained to evaluate focal increased uptake at fracture sites and guide further management. Typical codes: CP151ZZ, CP15YZZ
An inpatient with known spinal infection (osteomyelitis/discitis) and inconclusive MRI due to hardware interference undergoes radionuclide planar imaging of the spine to assess for increased radiotracer uptake consistent with active infection and to help localize involved vertebral levels. The study involves intravenous administration of a radiopharmaceutical and single-plane emission imaging to evaluate the musculoskeletal spine. Typical codes: CP151ZZ, CP15YZZ

Related Codes

CP11-SKULL-PLANAR-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Skull: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP14-THORAX-PLANAR-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Thorax: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP16-PELVIS-PLANAR-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Pelvis: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP17-SPINE-AND-PELVIS-PLANAR-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Spine And Pelvis: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP18-UPPER-EXTREMITY-RIGHT-INTRODUCTION-UPPER-EXTREMITY-RIGHT-PLANAR

ICD-10-PCS Code For Upper Extremity Right: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP19-UPPER-EXTREMITY-LEFT-PLANAR-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Upper Extremity Left: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP1B-UPPER-EXTREMITIES-BILATERAL-PLANAR-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Upper Extremities, Bilateral: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP1C-LOWER-EXTREMITY-RIGHT-PLANAR-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Lower Extremity, Right: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP1D-LEFT-LOWER-EXTREMITY-PLANAR-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Lower Extremity, Left: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP1F-LOWER-EXTREMITIES-PLANAR-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Lower Extremities: Procedure Code Group Overview

Showing 1–10 of 12

Frequently Asked Questions

References

1.CPT® Codes and Descriptions. AAPC. Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.Maintains the CPT code set's official descriptions and guidelines, licensed from the American Medical Association, used as the definitional source for CPT codes on this page.
2.HCPCS Quarterly Update. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's quarterly release of HCPCS Level II codes and short/long descriptors, the source for HCPCS code definitions and update history.
3.ICD-10-CM Full Code List. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's complete ICD-10-CM diagnosis code list, used to cross-reference diagnosis codes associated with this procedure or service.

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When to Use

ICD-10-PCS Codes

2 rows

ICD-10-PCS Code	Description
CP151ZZ	Planar Nuclear Medicine Imaging of Spine using Technetium 99m (Tc-99m)
CP15YZZ	Planar Nuclear Medicine Imaging of Spine using Other Radionuclide

Typical Clinical Scenarios

An elderly patient with known metastatic prostate cancer is admitted for progressive low back pain and new focal neurologic deficits; concern for metastatic involvement of the vertebral bodies prompts inpatient diagnostic workup to localize lesions and assess for multifocal skeletal disease. A planar nuclear medicine spine study is performed after administration of a radiopharmaceutical to detect areas of increased osteoblastic activity along the spinal column. Typical codes: CP151ZZ, CP15YZZ
A middle-aged patient presents to the hospital after a fall with persistent midline thoracic spine pain and equivocal plain radiographs; clinicians require a sensitive functional assessment to identify occult vertebral fractures or bone injury. A planar spinal nuclear medicine scan using an injected radionuclide is obtained to evaluate focal increased uptake at fracture sites and guide further management. Typical codes: CP151ZZ, CP15YZZ
An inpatient with known spinal infection (osteomyelitis/discitis) and inconclusive MRI due to hardware interference undergoes radionuclide planar imaging of the spine to assess for increased radiotracer uptake consistent with active infection and to help localize involved vertebral levels. The study involves intravenous administration of a radiopharmaceutical and single-plane emission imaging to evaluate the musculoskeletal spine. Typical codes: CP151ZZ, CP15YZZ

Related Codes

CP11-SKULL-PLANAR-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Skull: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP14-THORAX-PLANAR-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Thorax: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP16-PELVIS-PLANAR-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Pelvis: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP17-SPINE-AND-PELVIS-PLANAR-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Spine And Pelvis: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP18-UPPER-EXTREMITY-RIGHT-INTRODUCTION-UPPER-EXTREMITY-RIGHT-PLANAR

ICD-10-PCS Code For Upper Extremity Right: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP19-UPPER-EXTREMITY-LEFT-PLANAR-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Upper Extremity Left: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP1B-UPPER-EXTREMITIES-BILATERAL-PLANAR-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Upper Extremities, Bilateral: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP1C-LOWER-EXTREMITY-RIGHT-PLANAR-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Lower Extremity, Right: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP1D-LEFT-LOWER-EXTREMITY-PLANAR-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Lower Extremity, Left: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP1F-LOWER-EXTREMITIES-PLANAR-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Lower Extremities: Procedure Code Group Overview

Showing 1–10 of 12

Frequently Asked Questions

References

1.CPT® Codes and Descriptions. AAPC. Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.Maintains the CPT code set's official descriptions and guidelines, licensed from the American Medical Association, used as the definitional source for CPT codes on this page.
2.HCPCS Quarterly Update. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's quarterly release of HCPCS Level II codes and short/long descriptors, the source for HCPCS code definitions and update history.
3.ICD-10-CM Full Code List. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's complete ICD-10-CM diagnosis code list, used to cross-reference diagnosis codes associated with this procedure or service.

Published by

Trek Health powers OpenPayer with a leading commercial payer intelligence platform, seamlessly converting fragmented payer data into actionable insights for provider organizations.

ICD-10-PCS Code For Spine: Procedure Code Group Overview

Sign up for ICD-10-PCS Code For Spine: Procedure Code Group Overview policy alerts

Spine Planar Nuclear Medicine Imaging Procedure Overview

Code Attributes

ICD-10-PCS Code For Spine: Procedure Code Group Overview

Sign up for ICD-10-PCS Code For Spine: Procedure Code Group Overview policy alerts

Spine Planar Nuclear Medicine Imaging Procedure Overview

Code Attributes

When to Use

ICD-10-PCS Codes

Typical Clinical Scenarios

Related Codes

Which ICD-10-PCS section covers spine planar nuclear medicine imaging in this group?

What operations and body system are represented by the CP15 code group?

What specific body part is identified in the CP15 codes?

Which individual ICD-10-PCS codes are included in the CP15 group and how do they differ?

Why is accurate coding in the CP15 group important for inpatient documentation?

References

When to Use

ICD-10-PCS Codes

Typical Clinical Scenarios

Related Codes

Which ICD-10-PCS section covers spine planar nuclear medicine imaging in this group?

What operations and body system are represented by the CP15 code group?

What specific body part is identified in the CP15 codes?

Which individual ICD-10-PCS codes are included in the CP15 group and how do they differ?

Why is accurate coding in the CP15 group important for inpatient documentation?

References