Summary & Overview
CPT 01936: Anesthesia for Percutaneous Image-Guided Vascular Procedure
CPT code 01936 was an anesthesia code associated with percutaneous image-guided vascular procedures and is listed as deleted effective Jan. 1, 2022. Nationally, changes to anesthesia coding such as deletions can affect billing workflows, prior authorization processes, and how payers classify anesthesiology services for image-guided interventions. This summary outlines the code status, the major payers covered in the analysis, and the practical context for clinicians, coders, and health system administrators.
Key payers included in the coverage review are Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find concise information on the clinical context of the deleted code, applicable service settings, and linked anesthesia procedure families. The publication also highlights related anesthesia CPT codes that remain in use for percutaneous image-guided spine and interventional procedures, providing billing teams with direction on where to look for alternative coding pathways.
The piece covers: the deletion status and effective date, the clinical scenarios tied to the former code, typical sites of service, and where this code fit within the broader anesthesia coding landscape. Data not available in the input is noted where applicable.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 01936 is listed as Deleted effective Jan. 1, 2022. The code formerly described anesthesia services related to percutaneous image-guided procedures; based on that description, the service type is anesthesia for image-guided endovascular or percutaneous vascular procedures. The typical site of service for these procedures is an inpatient or outpatient surgical or interventional radiology setting where image-guided vascular interventions are performed.
Data not available in the input.
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A typical patient is an older adult with known peripheral artery disease presenting for a percutaneous lower extremity vascular intervention (eg, diagnostic angiography, angioplasty, or atherectomy) to treat critical limb ischemia or claudication. The patient often has comorbid diabetes, hypertension, and coronary artery disease and presents with progressive exertional leg pain or rest pain, nonhealing foot ulceration, or acute ischemic changes. The interventional radiology or vascular surgery team performs image‑guided endovascular access and intervention in an angiography suite or hybrid operating room. Anesthesiology provides monitored anesthesia care or general anesthesia depending on patient comorbidity, procedural complexity, and anticipated pain control needs. Preoperative evaluation includes review of vascular imaging, anticoagulation plan, and optimization of cardiopulmonary status. Intraoperative management includes vascular access, hemodynamic monitoring, sedation or general anesthesia, and coordination with the proceduralist for contrast administration and endovascular device use. Postprocedure care includes vascular assessment of pulses and perfusion, monitoring for access‑site bleeding or hematoma, pain control, and instructions for anticoagulation and wound care. This CPT descriptor was deleted effective Jan. 1, 2022; similar anesthesia services continue to be reported using current anesthesia CPT codes appropriate to the specific endovascular procedure and site of service.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
22 |