Summary & Overview
CPT 76100: Single‑Plane Tomographic Radiography
CPT code 76100 denotes specialized single-plane tomographic radiography — an X‑ray technique that scans across the body in one direction to render a single focused plane while blurring adjacent sections. This focused imaging approach is used when planar detail is required for diagnosis or pre‑procedural planning and is performed using dedicated tomographic X‑ray equipment in radiology suites.
Key national payers included in this discussion are Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise explanation of the clinical purpose and typical settings for this service, plus contextual information on billing characteristics such as commonly reported modifiers and the typical service line. The publication outlines what stakeholders need to know about coding expectations and documentation context, and it identifies where input is not available in the source data.
This summary is intended for clinicians, billing professionals, and policy analysts seeking a clear, national‑level overview of CPT code 76100, its clinical role in diagnostic imaging, and the administrative considerations relevant to reimbursement and claims submission.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 76100 describes a specialized X-ray technique that captures a single plane of the body by moving complex imaging equipment and scanning in one direction. Images produced by this method display one plane in sharp focus while structures above and below that plane appear blurred.
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Service type: Specialized single-plane tomographic radiography
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Typical site of service: Hospital radiology departments or outpatient imaging centers equipped with tomographic X-ray systems
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A typical patient is a middle-aged adult referred to outpatient radiology from orthopedics for imaging of a focal musculoskeletal complaint, such as persistent unilateral hip pain after trauma or progressive shoulder pain with limited range of motion. The patient arrives at a radiology clinic or hospital radiology department for an advanced planar fluoroscopic acquisition using specialized equipment that produces a single plane in focus while structures above and below the plane are intentionally blurred. The workflow includes registration, review of clinical history and prior imaging, positioning of the patient on the X‑ray table, technologist setup of the special planar scanning device, acquisition of the targeted single‑plane images, brief image review by the radiologist or fluoroscopy technologist, and documentation of the procedure and findings in the radiology report. Typical uses include preoperative localization, targeted evaluation of bone or joint alignment, dynamic assessment in one plane for hardware placement, or detailed visualization of a region where oblique planar imaging provides diagnostic benefit. Typical site of service is an outpatient radiology suite, hospital radiology department, or ambulatory surgical center where fixed specialized X‑ray scanning equipment is available.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
26 | Professional component | When only the physician interpretation/report is billed separate from the technical component |