CPT code 93888: Transcranial Doppler, limited intracranial study2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $170.34 for 93888 nationally in the office.

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

What 93888 covers

Transcranial Doppler uses ultrasound through the skull’s acoustic windows to assess blood-flow signals in intracranial arteries. A trained sonographer or other qualified staff member typically acquires the study in a hospital or outpatient setting, and a physician interprets the findings. Limited examinations may be used when the requested assessment does not call for the broader evaluation represented by a complete intracranial study.

Choose this code based on the extent of the examination performed, not simply the diagnosis or the number of abnormal findings. The record should support the clinical reason for testing, the vessels or windows assessed, relevant flow measurements, and the physician’s interpretation. CMS recognizes professional and technical components: report modifier 26 for interpretation, TC for equipment and staff, or neither for the global service. The cardiovascular diagnostic multiple procedure reduction applies to the technical component.

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 93888 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

93888 rates by state

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

How the 93888 rate is calculated

Each of 93888’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 93888

The CMS indicators that decide how 93888 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 26

93888 compared with similar codes

How to choose

93886Intracranial DopplerComplete study

Use 93886 for a complete intracranial Doppler examination. Use 93888 when the documented examination is limited in scope.

93880Carotid duplexComplete bilateral extracranial study

93880 evaluates extracranial carotid arteries bilaterally. This code assesses intracranial arterial flow through transcranial Doppler.

93882Carotid duplexUnilateral or limited study

93882 is a limited or unilateral extracranial carotid study; 93888 is a limited intracranial transcranial Doppler study.

93892Emboli detectionWithout injection

93892 is for a transcranial Doppler emboli-detection protocol without injection. Choose 93888 for a limited intracranial flow assessment without that specialized objective.

Codes related to 93888

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