Gastric Emptying Scintigraphy With/Without Small Bowel and Colon Transit Imaging (December 2015)

December 2015 pages 10-13 Gastric Emptying Scintigraphy With/Without Small Bowel and Colon Transit Imaging Gastric emptying scintigraphy (GES) has evolved with new standardization of imaging protocols1 and recognition of additional techniques to identify normal and abnormal motility in upper, lower, or combined gastrointestinal (GI) tract transit.2 GES involves the ingestion of a solid meal, a liquid meal, or both solid and liquid meals that are labeled with radioactive components (radiopharmaceuticals) that can be imaged. GES is ordered primarily to assess upper GI dyspepsia when gastroparesis is suspected as a cause of a patient's symptoms. Two new Current Procedural...

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Note:  The following article synopsis was NOT provided by the AMA. It was created by Find-A-Code/innoviHealth.

Article Overview

This article reviews nuclear medicine imaging for gastric emptying and broader gastrointestinal transit evaluation, with emphasis on the CPT 2016 updates that affect how these services are represented in the Radiology/Nuclear Medicine section. It is written for coders, billing staff, and clinicians who need to understand the scope of the revised and new CPT options, the general clinical settings in which these studies are used, and the procedural structure described in the article.

Why This Topic Matters

Accurate reporting of gastric emptying and transit imaging depends on matching the documented study scope to the correct CPT code family. This article helps readers understand the updated framework for reporting stomach-only, stomach-plus-small-bowel, and whole-gut transit studies.

Article Sections

  1. December 2015 pages 10-13

    Introductory material describing the scope of gastric emptying scintigraphy and the broader imaging approaches discussed in the article.

  2. Coding overview and CPT 2016 updates

    Discussion of the revised and newly established CPT code structure for gastric emptying and transit imaging, along with the general service categories addressed.

  3. Clinical indications and reporting considerations

    Overview of the clinical settings in which these studies are used and the general factors described for reporting the different imaging services.

  4. Coding Tip

    General guidance presented by the source regarding study duration and the relationship between gastric emptying and transit imaging services.

  5. Question and answer: liquid-phase GES and gastroesophageal reflux

    A question-and-answer section addressing how the article frames a reflux-focused nuclear medicine scenario in relation to gastric emptying imaging services.

  6. Coding Tip

    Additional guidance presented by the source about same-day versus separate-date imaging protocols and reporting considerations.

  7. Clinical Example (78264)

    A case-based example illustrating the type of patient presentation and imaging scenario associated with one of the discussed CPT codes.

  8. Description of Procedure (78264)

    Procedural narrative describing the general workflow, preparation, supervision, image acquisition, and reporting framework for the related study.

  9. Clinical Example (78265)

    A case-based example illustrating a combined gastric emptying and small bowel transit scenario.

  10. Description of Procedure (78265)

    Procedural narrative describing the workflow and reporting framework for the combined gastric emptying and small bowel transit study.

  11. Clinical Example (78266)

    A case-based example illustrating a whole-gut transit imaging scenario with gastric emptying, small bowel, and colon transit.

  12. Description of Procedure (78266)

    Procedural narrative describing the workflow, image acquisition, quantitative review, and reporting framework for the whole-gut transit study.

  13. References

    Cited practice guidelines and consensus references supporting the article's subject matter.

What You Will Learn

  • How the article frames gastric emptying scintigraphy within broader GI transit imaging
  • What the December 2015 discussion covers about the CPT 2016 update
  • Which broad clinical scenarios are associated with the studies described
  • What kinds of procedural and reporting themes are presented for the imaging services
  • How the article distinguishes stomach-only, combined, and whole-gut transit study contexts

Who Should Read This

  • Medical coders
  • Coding educators
  • Billing and reimbursement staff
  • Nuclear medicine professionals
  • Gastroenterology clinicians

Codes Discussed


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