CPT code 01732: Elbow arthroscopy anesthesia, diagnostic joint inspection2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Georgia
Anesthesia for diagnostic arthroscopy of the elbow joint, reported when the surgeon uses a scope to inspect the joint rather than perform definitive treatment.
CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 01732 in Georgia.
Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.
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On this page 9 sections
What 01732 covers
01732 covers anesthesia for diagnostic arthroscopy of the elbow joint, when the surgeon uses an arthroscope to inspect the joint rather than perform a separately characterized therapeutic procedure. It is typically furnished by an anesthesiologist or CRNA for an operating-room or ambulatory surgery center case; the orthopedic surgeon performs and documents the joint examination. The setting may include diagnostic evaluation of persistent elbow symptoms when direct visualization is needed.
Select this code for diagnostic elbow arthroscopy, not anesthesia for a closed procedure or an open elbow operation. If the procedure includes definitive treatment, select the anesthesia code that matches the performed procedure. The anesthesia record should establish the service and timed attendance; the operative report should identify elbow joint arthroscopy and whether it was diagnostic or included definitive work. Medicare assigns 3 base units. Payment is (base units + time units) multiplied by the locality’s anesthesia conversion factor; time runs from anesthesia preparation until the practitioner is no longer in personal attendance and the patient can safely be placed under postoperative care, converted from minutes to 15-minute units to one decimal place.
This summary was written with AI assistance from CMS physician fee schedule data and checked against the CMS billing rules shown here. Rates on this page come directly from CMS files.
Where 01732 pays more and less in Georgia
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta, GA | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| Rest of Georgia | Unavailable | Unavailable |
How the 01732 rate is calculated
Each of 01732’s three RVUs is multiplied by a geographic index (GPCI) for the payment locality, added up, and multiplied by the conversion factor. Drag the indexes or enter a ZIP to see what moves the rate.
How the rate is built · 01732
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Work0.00
0.00 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Practice expense0.00
0.00 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Malpractice0.00
0.00 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Adjusted RVUs
0.0000
Conversion factor
$33.4009
Medicare rate
$0.00
Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 01732
01732 has no global surgery period, no multiple-procedure, bilateral or assistant-at-surgery adjustment, and no professional/technical split. What changes the payment is where the service happens: the place of service on the claim decides whether Medicare pays the office or the facility rate.
Place of service · 01732
Which rate does Medicare pay?
The POS code on the claim line (CMS-1500 box 24B).
POS 11 · non-facility rate · national
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01732 isn’t priced in this setting.
01732 compared with similar codes
Compare codes · National
4 codes, side by side
How to choose
- 01740Other elbow anesthesiaOpen or arthroscopic, unspecified
- Use 01732 for diagnostic elbow arthroscopy. Use 01740 for other open or arthroscopic elbow work when a more specific anesthesia code does not describe the procedure.
- 01730Closed orthopedic anesthesiaHumerus or elbow
- 01730 applies to closed procedures involving the humerus or elbow; 01732 is for diagnostic arthroscopy inside the elbow joint.
- 01742Elbow osteotomyOpen or arthroscopic osteotomy
- 01742 is specific to elbow osteotomy procedures. Diagnostic inspection of the elbow joint by arthroscopy falls under 01732.
01732 billing questions
How does 01732 differ from 01740?
01732 is for diagnostic arthroscopy of the elbow joint. 01740 covers other open or arthroscopic elbow procedures not described by a more specific anesthesia code.
Does 01732 include the surgeon’s arthroscopy service?
No. 01732 reports the anesthesia service; the surgeon reports the operative service under the applicable procedure code.
How are units calculated for 01732?
The code has 3 base units. Medicare adds time units, calculated from anesthesia minutes in 15-minute units to one decimal place, then applies the locality’s anesthesia conversion factor.
What should the records show?
The operative report should identify arthroscopy of the elbow joint and establish whether the work was diagnostic or included definitive treatment. The anesthesia record should support the anesthesia service and its start and end times.
Does medical direction change which code applies?
No; code selection follows the procedure performed. When an anesthesiologist medically directs a CRNA, Medicare pays each 50% of the allowance for the personally performed service.
Where these rates come from
FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indexes and the conversion factor. Services without a published rate are labeled, never given a made-up amount. Amounts are Medicare allowed amounts before claim adjustments: not a patient’s bill or a commercial rate.
CMS RVU26D · effective Oct 1, 2026 through the day before Jan 1, 2027
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