Billing code 78231: Salivary imagingMedicare rate & RVUs in Alabama
Serial salivary gland scintigraphy records tracer distribution over time to evaluate the glands when a clinician orders sequential imaging.
Medicare pays $93.38 for 78231 in the office in Alabama (Alabama). Which amount applies depends on the service address.
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 9 sections
What 78231 covers
This nuclear medicine study obtains sequential images of the salivary glands after administration of a radioactive tracer. The images show how tracer reaches and moves through the glands over time. A nuclear medicine technologist typically performs the acquisition in a hospital imaging department or outpatient nuclear medicine center; a physician, often a radiologist or nuclear medicine physician, interprets the study. The ordering clinician may use it when evaluating suspected salivary gland dysfunction or an abnormality affecting tracer uptake or passage.
Report 78231 when the performed service includes serial salivary gland images, rather than a nonserial imaging service or a separately defined function study. The record should identify the clinical indication, tracer administration, imaging sequence, and the physician’s interpretation. CMS recognizes professional and technical components: report modifier 26 for the interpretation, modifier TC for the equipment and staff, or neither modifier when billing the global service. CMS separately prices the 26 and TC components.
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.
78231 in Alabama
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $93.38 | Unavailable |
How the 78231 rate is calculated
Each of 78231’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 · 78231
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Work0.51
0.51 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Practice expense2.58
2.58 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Malpractice0.05
0.05 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Adjusted RVUs
3.1400
Conversion factor
$33.4009
Medicare rate
$104.88
Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 78231
The CMS indicators that decide how 78231 is paid alongside other services.
CMS payment indicators · 78231
Salivary imaging
| Rule | CMS value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Global period | XXX | The global surgery concept doesn’t apply. |
| Multiple procedures | 0 | No multiple-procedure reduction. |
| Bilateral (modifier 50) | 0 | The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply. |
| Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS) | 0 | Not paid without supporting documentation. |
| Co-surgeons (62) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Team surgery (66) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Professional/technical | 1 | Diagnostic test with separate professional (26) and technical (TC) components. |
What modifiers do to the payment
Modifier 26 · payment effect
With and without the modifier
78231 without 26 · national office
$104.88
Salivary imaging
78231-26 · Professional component
$20.37
Pays only the interpretation and report.
78231 compared with similar codes
Compare codes · National
4 codes, side by side
How to choose
- 78230Salivary imaging
- Use 78231 when the study includes serial images. 78230 represents salivary gland imaging without the serial-image distinction.
- 78232Salivary gland study
- 78232 describes a salivary gland function study; 78231 describes serial imaging. Follow the service performed and documented.
- 78226Hepatobiliary imaging
- 78226 is hepatobiliary system imaging, not salivary gland imaging. The anatomy and diagnostic study determine which code applies.
78231 billing questions
How does 78231 differ from 78230?
78231 is for serial images acquired over time. 78230 describes salivary gland imaging without that serial-image distinction.
When should 78232 be used instead?
Use 78232 when the performed service is a salivary gland function study. Select 78231 when the service is serial imaging, as documented in the imaging protocol.
Which modifier reports only the interpretation?
Append modifier 26 for the physician’s professional interpretation. Modifier TC identifies the technical portion, while billing without either modifier represents the global service.
What documentation supports 78231?
Document the clinical indication, tracer administration, serial image acquisition, and interpretation. The record should make clear that sequential images were obtained.
Can 78230 and 78231 be reported together?
Choose the code that matches the salivary imaging service actually performed. The documentation should support the serial-image service for 78231 rather than treating the two codes as interchangeable.
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
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