Summary & Overview
CPT 76017: MR Safety Medical Physics Evaluation for Implants
CPT code 76017 designates a specialized medical physics or MR safety expert consultation to determine magnetic resonance (MR) safety for patients with implants or foreign bodies. The service encompasses planning, customization, and bedside or in-suite monitoring of MR safety measures under physician or qualified healthcare professional supervision and includes a written report. This code is important nationally as MRI use grows and as more patients present with implants that may pose safety risks during MR imaging.
Key payers covered in this analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find an overview of the clinical and procedural context for 76017, where the service is typically performed, and what the code represents for MR safety workflows. The publication outlines payer coverage patterns and benchmarking where available, summarizes policy and coding considerations relevant to facilities and physics providers, and highlights clinical scenarios driving utilization of formal MR safety evaluations.
The document provides concise guidance on the intended use of the code, documentation elements tied to the written report and supervised practice, and how the service fits into imaging safety protocols. Data not available in the input are noted where applicable.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 76017 describes services in which a medical physicist or magnetic resonance (MR) safety expert provides medical physics evaluation to determine MR safety for a patient with implants or foreign bodies. The service includes planning, customizing, and monitoring MR safety measures under the supervision of a physician or other qualified healthcare professional (QHP), and culminates in a written report documenting findings and recommendations.
Service type: MR safety evaluation and medical physics consultation
Typical site of service: Hospital outpatient imaging departments, MRI centers, or other facilities where magnetic resonance imaging is performed
Data not available in the input for associated taxonomies, ICD-10 diagnoses, and related codes.
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A 68-year-old patient with a history of coronary artery disease and a prior pacemaker presents to the radiology department for evaluation of persistent back pain. The ordering physician requests a magnetic resonance (MR) scan of the lumbar spine to evaluate suspected metastatic disease. Because the patient has implanted cardiac hardware and prior spinal surgical hardware, the facility schedules a pre-scan MR safety assessment performed by a medical physicist or MR safety expert under physician supervision.
The clinical workflow: the referring clinician submits the MR order with implant documentation. The MR safety expert reviews implant device records, manufacturer labeling, and available imaging; plans and documents scan parameters and device-specific conditions (e.g., SAR limits, positioning, sequences); communicates required monitoring and supervision to the MR technologist and supervising physician or QHP; attends or remotely monitors the scanning session as required; and produces a written report detailing the safety determination and any special precautions or modifications to the MR protocol. The service is billed using 76017 when the medical physicist or MR safety expert provides these professional medical physics services and issues a written report.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
26 | Professional component |