Summary & Overview

CPT 0338T: Percutaneous Renal Artery Radiofrequency Therapy

CPT code 0338T represents a percutaneous, catheter-based procedure that delivers radiofrequency energy to the endoluminal surface of the renal artery on one side. This emerging endovascular intervention is used in select clinical scenarios where targeted thermal modification of the renal artery is indicated. The code captures a specialized image-guided arterial procedure and is relevant for hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, interventional radiology groups, and vascular specialists.

Key payers covered in the analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a national perspective on clinical context, coding definitions, and payer coverage considerations for this procedure. The publication summarizes how the service is billed, the typical settings where it is performed, and what to expect from major payers in terms of coverage presence. It also provides benchmarks and policy updates where available, and places the procedure in clinical context for referring clinicians and billing professionals.

This summary is intended to orient clinical, coding, and revenue-cycle stakeholders to the procedure and its billing classification, helping readers locate more detailed benchmarks, payer policy language, and related coding guidance in the full publication.

AetnaBlue Cross Blue ShieldCigna HealthUnitedHealthcareMedicare0338TCPTrenal-arteryendovascularradiofrequency-ablationinterventional-radiologyambulatory-surgeryhospital-outpatient

Billing Code Overview

CPT code 0338T describes a procedure in which the physician uses a percutaneous approach to deliver radiofrequency energy to the endoluminal surface of the renal artery on one side of the body. This procedure is a catheter-based, image-guided arterial intervention performed to modify the renal artery lining using thermal energy.

Service type: Percutaneous renal artery radiofrequency ablation/intervention
Typical site of service: Hospital outpatient department or ambulatory surgical center; procedure is performed in an interventional radiology or endovascular suite

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Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

A typical patient is a 55–70 year-old adult with treatment-resistant, medication-refractory hypertension attributed to renal sympathetic overactivity or anatomically appropriate renovascular hypertension. The patient has undergone history and physical examination, ambulatory or office blood pressure monitoring, medication review, renal artery imaging (CT angiography or duplex ultrasound) confirming suitable renal artery anatomy (non-atherosclerotic focal disease or anatomy amenable to catheter access), and cardiovascular risk assessment. The clinical workflow: pre-procedure evaluation by an interventional cardiologist, interventional radiologist, or endovascular specialist; informed consent; percutaneous arterial access (commonly femoral or radial) in an outpatient catheterization lab or hybrid operating room; intra-procedural angiography to confirm renal artery anatomy; delivery of radiofrequency energy via an endoluminal catheter to the renal artery lumen on one side (0338T) with physiologic and hemodynamic monitoring; hemostasis and post-procedure observation for several hours to overnight depending on institutional protocols and patient comorbidities; discharge with follow-up blood pressure monitoring and medication adjustment as needed. Typical site of service is an outpatient ambulatory surgical center or hospital-based catheterization lab/procedural suite.

Coding Specifications

Modifier	Description	When to Use
`22`	Increased procedural services

Taxonomy Code	Specialty	Notes
208000000X	Cardiology	Interventional cardiologists commonly perform renal artery interventions and catheter-based renal denervation.
208600000X	Vascular Surgery	Vascular surgeons perform endovascular renal artery procedures and manage access and arterial complications.
207RG0300X	Interventional Radiology	Interventional radiologists perform image-guided percutaneous renal denervation procedures.
363L00000X	Nephrology	Nephrologists may be involved in patient selection and long-term blood pressure/renal function follow-up.
207P00000X	Diagnostic Radiology	Diagnostic radiologists provide vascular imaging interpretation for pre-procedure planning.

Related Diagnoses

ICD-10 Code	Description	Clinical Relevance
`I10`	Essential (primary) hypertension	Most common indication when hypertension is poorly controlled on multi-drug therapy and renal denervation is considered.
`I15.0`	Renovascular hypertension due to renal artery stenosis	Secondary hypertension from renal artery disease may be anatomic reason to evaluate renal arteries prior to or instead of denervation.
`I12.0`	Hypertensive chronic kidney disease with stage 1 through stage 4 CKD, or unspecified CKD	CKD often coexists with difficult-to-control hypertension and is relevant to risk/benefit assessment.
`I13.0`	Hypertensive heart and chronic kidney disease with heart failure and stage 1 through stage 4 CKD, or unspecified CKD	Patients with combined cardiac and renal disease may be candidates for specialized blood pressure interventions.
`N28.9`	Disorder of kidney and ureter, unspecified	Used when kidney-specific concerns are present but not otherwise specified during pre-procedure evaluation.

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Related CPT Codes

CPT Code	Description	Relationship to This Procedure
`36215`	Selective catheter placement, arterial system; each first-order abdominal, pelvic, or lower extremity branch, within a vascular family	Used for selective catheterization of the renal artery during angiography before `0338T`.
`36011`	Arterial catheterization or cannulation for sampling, monitoring or transfusion (separate procedure)	May be used for arterial access management or monitoring during the procedure when billed separately.
`75898`	Angiography, catheter-based, radiological supervision and interpretation, therapeutic intervention within the same vessel performed at time of diagnostic angiographic exam (List separately in addition to codes for primary procedure)	Used to report angiographic imaging and guidance during endovascular renal denervation.
`51720`	Measurement of post-void residual urine; non-instrumental (bladder scan)	Ancillary assessment sometimes used peri-procedurally in patients with autonomic concerns (not routine; included here as possible ancillary code).
`99214`	Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of an established patient, moderate complexity	Commonly used for pre-procedure evaluation and post-procedure follow-up visits related to `0338T`.

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