Summary & Overview
HCPCS Level II A9547: Indium In-111 Oxyquinoline, Diagnostic, per 0.5 millicurie
HCPCS Level II code A9547 designates indium In-111 oxyquinoline supplied for diagnostic use, billed per 0.5 millicurie. This radiopharmaceutical code is relevant across hospital outpatient departments and specialized nuclear medicine or imaging centers nationwide, where it supports scintigraphic and targeted diagnostic procedures. Clarity on this code matters for accurate facility billing, inventory management of radiopharmaceuticals, and tracking of diagnostic nuclear medicine utilization.
Key payers covered in the national analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find an overview of billing context for A9547, typical settings of use, and the kinds of benchmarks and policy topics that commonly surround radiopharmaceutical reimbursement — including unit-based dosing, billing granularity per millicurie, and payer coverage considerations. The publication highlights common modifiers and payer practices where available and identifies gaps where data is not provided.
The report is intended to help revenue cycle, compliance, and clinical operations teams understand how HCPCS Level II code A9547 is used in practice, what payer panels typically include this code, and what operational implications — such as dose-based billing and site-of-service designation — are most pertinent.
Billing Code Overview
HCPCS Level II code A9547 describes indium In-111 oxyquinoline, supplied for diagnostic use, measured per 0.5 millicurie. The service is delivery of a radiopharmaceutical agent used in nuclear medicine imaging procedures. Typical site of service is hospital outpatient department or nuclear medicine center / imaging facility, where radiopharmaceuticals are prepared and administered for scintigraphy or other diagnostic scans.
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A typical patient is an adult referred by oncology or infectious disease for an Indium-111 oxyquinoline (oxine) leukocyte imaging study to localize occult infection or evaluate suspected inflammatory foci when planar or CT imaging is inconclusive. Example scenario: a 62-year-old patient with persistent fever of unknown origin and elevated white blood cell count after recent abdominal surgery; prior CT abdomen shows possible abscess but is nondiagnostic. The nuclear medicine team schedules a radiolabeled white blood cell scan using A9547 (Indium-111 oxyquinoline, diagnostic, per 0.5 millicurie). The clinical workflow includes: ordering provider documents indication and relevant history; informed consent and allergy review; peripheral venous blood draw in nuclear medicine for autologous leukocyte labeling; radiolabeling of the isolated leukocytes with Indium-111 oxyquinoline per institutional protocol; reinfusion of labeled cells to the patient; imaging at appropriate intervals (typically early and delayed planar and/or SPECT/CT imaging); image interpretation by a nuclear medicine physician with a report placed in the medical record. Typical site of service is an outpatient nuclear medicine department or hospital radiology/nuclear medicine suite. The service is diagnostic and performed by nuclear medicine technologists and physicians experienced in radiopharmaceutical handling and image interpretation.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
26 | Professional component |