CPT code 78315: Bone imaging, three-phase acquisition2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $303.28 for 78315 nationally in the office. Local office rates run $264.03–$423.33.

Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.

What 78315 covers

This study captures bone-related activity in three stages: blood flow, blood-pool or soft-tissue activity, and delayed skeletal uptake. Nuclear medicine technologists acquire the images, and a nuclear medicine physician or radiologist interprets them. Clinicians commonly request the study when assessing suspected osteomyelitis, a painful joint prosthesis, stress injury, or another focal bone or joint concern where the phases may help characterize the process.

Report 78315 when the performed protocol includes all three phases; a scan of several areas or a whole-body survey alone does not establish that the three-phase service was performed. The record should identify the clinical question and imaged region and support that the three phases were acquired and interpreted. This diagnostic test has separately priced professional and technical components: report modifier 26 for interpretation, modifier TC for equipment and staff, or neither modifier when billing the global service.

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 78315 pays more and less

The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.

109 of 109 payment localities

78315 rates by state

Office rate range in each state. Select a state to see its payment localities.

How the 78315 rate is calculated

Each of 78315’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.

Payment rules and modifiers for 78315

The CMS indicators that decide how 78315 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 26

78315 compared with similar codes

How to choose

78300Bone scanLimited area

78300 describes limited-area bone imaging. Choose 78315 when the examination includes the three phases, rather than selecting it solely because the images cover a small region.

78305Bone imagingMultiple areas

78305 describes imaging of multiple areas. 78315 is distinguished by its three-phase acquisition, not by the number of sites.

78306Bone imagingWhole body

78306 describes a whole-body bone study. 78315 identifies a three-phase protocol and is not selected simply because delayed images survey the skeleton.

Codes related to 78315

Related codes aren’t interchangeable: bill the code that matches the service performed.

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

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates