Billing code 78832: Tumor SPECT/CTMedicare rate & RVUs

Reports radiopharmaceutical tumor localization using SPECT with CT when imaging covers two or more anatomical areas in the same study.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities8.1K Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $790.93 for 78832 nationally in the office. Local office rates run $687.09–$1,112.12.

Medicare rate · 78832

Tumor SPECT/CT

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work RVUs
2.07
Total RVUs
23.68
Global days
XXX

National rate · 2026

$790.93

Office setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 78832 → · Billed by an NP, PA or therapist? →

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

On this page 10 sections
  1. Medicare rate
  2. What 78832 covers
  3. By payment locality
  4. Rate map
  5. How it’s calculated
  6. Payment rules
  7. Similar codes
  8. Related codes
  9. Billing questions
  10. Sources

What 78832 covers

This service combines SPECT imaging after radiopharmaceutical administration with CT images that help localize uptake anatomically. Nuclear medicine departments use it to evaluate suspected or known tumor-related radiopharmaceutical uptake across two or more areas, such as the chest and pelvis. A nuclear medicine physician interprets the images, while imaging staff perform the acquisition in a hospital or outpatient imaging center.

Select this code when the study includes SPECT with CT and covers two or more areas; a single area belongs to a different code in the family. The report should identify the radiopharmaceutical, the areas imaged, the SPECT/CT acquisition, and the findings. CMS recognizes professional and technical components: modifier 26 identifies interpretation, modifier TC identifies equipment and staff, and billing without either modifier represents 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 78832 pays more and less

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

109 payment localities

$687.09 to $1112.12

$687.09$899.61$1112.12
One dot per payment locality, office / nonfacility. Hover a dot to see the locality; select it to open that rate.

109 of 109 payment localities

78832 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
Alabama$698.85Unavailable
Alaska*$869.33Unavailable
Arizona$767.88Unavailable
Arkansas$687.09Unavailable
Atlanta$803.80Unavailable
Austin$831.90Unavailable
Bakersfield$858.61Unavailable
Baltimore/Surr. Cntys$845.72Unavailable
Beaumont$726.09Unavailable
Brazoria$783.72Unavailable

78832 rates by state

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

Explore a state

Local rates. Clear comparisons.

Hover or focus a tile to see its rate range. Select it to open the state’s fee schedule.

$687.09

$985.07

Color shows the midpoint of each state’s locality range.

View every state and territory as a table
78832 office rate range by state
State / territoryOffice rate rangeLocalities
AK$869.331
AL$698.851
AR$687.091
AZ$767.881
CA$858.03–$1,112.1229
CO$836.261
CT$848.691
DC$922.761
DE$782.081
FL$762.46–$829.473
GA$714.78–$803.802
GU$886.461
HI$886.461
IA$726.471
ID$730.501
IL$732.05–$815.384
IN$735.591
KS$719.241
KY$710.971
LA$708.37–$749.522
MA$828.76–$931.972
MD$799.72–$922.763
ME$731.40–$782.272
MI$729.44–$770.012
MN$807.461
MO$692.00–$756.593
MS$689.871
MT$790.921
NC$740.811
ND$787.361
NE$732.081
NH$819.531
NJ$860.13–$910.222
NM$732.731
NV$790.651
NY$753.36–$935.795
OH$728.711
OK$713.001
OR$786.28–$869.952
PA$731.91–$822.692
PR$798.721
RI$815.221
SC$735.631
SD$786.941
TN$723.011
TX$726.09–$831.908
UT$747.371
VA$777.00–$922.762
VI$798.721
VT$780.811
WA$828.33–$955.772
WI$756.711
WV$699.761
WY$789.371

How the 78832 rate is calculated

Each of 78832’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 · 78832

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work 2.07Practice expense 21.43Malpractice 0.18

23.6800 adjusted RVUs×$33.4009 conversion factor=$790.93

All indexes start at 1.000 (the national rate). Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.

Payment rules and modifiers for 78832

The CMS indicators that decide how 78832 is paid alongside other services.

CMS payment indicators · 78832

Tumor SPECT/CT

RuleCMS valueWhat it means
Global periodXXXThe global surgery concept doesn’t apply.
Multiple procedures0No multiple-procedure reduction.
Bilateral (modifier 50)0The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply.
Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS)0Not paid without supporting documentation.
Co-surgeons (62)0Not permitted.
Team surgery (66)0Not permitted.
Professional/technical1Diagnostic test with separate professional (26) and technical (TC) components.

What modifiers do to the payment

Modifier 26 · payment effect

With and without the modifier

78832 without 26 · national office

$790.93

Tumor SPECT/CT

78832-26 · Professional component

$93.86

Pays only the interpretation and report.

When to use modifier 26

78832 compared with similar codes

Compare codes

78832 vs 78830 vs 78831 vs 78803 vs 78801: national Medicare rates

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

  • 78832
    Tumor SPECT/CT · 2.07 wRVU
    $790.93
  • 78830
    Tumor SPECT/CT · 1.45 wRVU
    $420.85−$370.08
  • 78831
    Tumor SPECT · 1.77 wRVU
    $622.93−$168.00
  • 78803
    Tumor SPECT · 1.06 wRVU
    $335.68−$455.25
  • 78801
    Tumor imaging · 0.71 wRVU
    $240.15−$550.78

How to choose

78830Tumor SPECT/CT
Both include SPECT with CT, but 78830 is for one area; 78832 is for two or more areas.
78831Tumor SPECT
Use 78831 for SPECT across two or more areas without CT. Use 78832 when the study also includes CT.
78803Tumor SPECT
Code 78803 is SPECT without CT for one area. Code 78832 includes CT and covers two or more areas.
78801Tumor imaging
Code 78801 describes planar imaging of two or more areas in one day; 78832 describes multi-area SPECT with CT.

78832 billing questions

When should this be chosen over 78830?

Use 78832 for SPECT with CT covering two or more areas. Code 78830 describes the corresponding SPECT/CT service for a single area.

How does 78832 differ from 78831?

Both cover SPECT imaging of two or more areas, but 78832 includes CT with the SPECT study; 78831 is the SPECT code without CT.

How are the professional and technical services billed?

Use modifier 26 for the professional interpretation and modifier TC for the technical service. Without either modifier, the claim represents the global service.

Does the number of areas mean the number of images?

No. The distinction is the anatomical coverage of the study, not the count of image frames or views. Document the areas imaged.

What documentation supports reporting 78832?

The record should support radiopharmaceutical tumor localization, SPECT with CT, the two or more areas examined, and the interpreting physician's findings.

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

Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
RVUs for 78832PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 9,552 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

Did this answer your question about what 78832 pays?

Tell us what you were actually trying to work out. We’ll answer you directly, or build the page that does.

Fee sheets

Put 78832 and the rest of your codes on one sheet

Build a fee sheet from your own code list at your locality, put your payer contracts beside Medicare, and see what changed each quarter.

Build my fee sheetOr price your code list free →