$107.78
Choose 88321 for slides prepared by another laboratory. Choose 88323 when the referred material requires preparation for the consultation.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
88321 Slide consultation Medicare reimbursement rates in Tennessee
A pathologist reviews slides prepared by another laboratory and issues a consultation report, commonly for an outside second opinion on biopsy or resection findings. Compare 88321 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Tennessee.
Amounts below use the non-QP conversion factor for participating physicians. These are base physician payments before claim-level adjustments, not patient costs or total hospital charges.
What does Medicare pay for 88321 in Tennessee?
Tennessee has 1 payment locality in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the payment area shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
$89.28
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Tennessee
One mapped payment locality.
Facility setting
$65.29
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Tennessee
One mapped payment locality.
These are locality ranges, not averages or address-specific quotes. A facility-setting amount covers the physician service; it does not include a hospital’s separate bill. Choose a locality below to inspect its calculation, compare other payment areas, or price a percentage of Medicare.
Pathology consultation
About 88321: Outside-prepared slide consultation and report
A pathologist reviews slides prepared by another laboratory and issues a consultation report, commonly for an outside second opinion on biopsy or resection findings.
A pathologist examines slides that another laboratory has already prepared and provides an interpretive consultation report. A common situation is a treating clinician requesting an outside review of biopsy or resection slides before deciding on diagnosis or treatment. The service is performed by a pathologist in a hospital, reference laboratory, or other pathology practice; it is not the preparation of new slides from submitted tissue.
Select this code when the consultation is based on slides prepared elsewhere. The report should identify the material reviewed and document the pathologist’s interpretation and conclusions. Use a different consultation code when the referred material requires preparation or when the service involves a broader review of records and specimens. This code represents the slide-review consultation, rather than the original laboratory’s tissue examination or a stain service.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU1.59 · 57%
- Practice expense (office) RVU1.15 · 41%
- Malpractice RVU0.07 · 2%
161.7K
Medicare services in 2024 · #431 by national volume
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.
88321 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Tennessee, from the same CMS release.
$146.44
88321 centers on review of outside-prepared slides; 88325 describes a comprehensive review of records and specimens.
$48.84
88329 is for a pathology consultation during surgery. 88321 is for a consultation report based on slides prepared elsewhere.
Compare 88321 by payment locality
Find the payment area for your service address, then open its rate page for calculation inputs, release history and the percentage-of-Medicare tool. A city may cross payment-area boundaries; the ZIP lookup above helps resolve the location.
1 of 1 payment localities
Tennessee →
Office / nonfacility
$89.28
Facility
$65.29
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How this local rate is calculated
Each RVU component is multiplied by its own geographic practice cost index (GPCI). The three adjusted components are added, then multiplied by the conversion factor. These are the inputs used for 88321 in Tennessee.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
11,230
- Code
- 88321
- Physician work
- 1.59
- Practice expense
- 1.15
- Malpractice
- 0.07
GPCI2026.csv
95
- Locality
- Tennessee
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.909
- Malpractice
- 0.537
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 1.59 | × 1.000 | 1.5900 |
| Practice expense | 1.15 | × 0.909 | 1.0454 |
| Malpractice | 0.07 | × 0.537 | 0.0376 |
| Total RVUs | 2.6729 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Office / nonfacility rate, Tennessee$89.28
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Office / nonfacility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 1.59 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 1.15 | 0.909 |
| Malpractice | 0.07 | 0.537 |
(1.59 × 1 + 1.15 × 0.909 + 0.07 × 0.537) × $33.4009 = $89.28
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 1.59 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 0.36 | 0.909 |
| Malpractice | 0.07 | 0.537 |
(1.59 × 1 + 0.36 × 0.909 + 0.07 × 0.537) × $33.4009 = $65.29
The office and facility calculations use their respective practice-expense RVUs. The facility amount here is the physician fee, not a separate hospital or facility bill.
88321 billing questions
How does this differ from 88323?
Use 88321 when the slides were already prepared elsewhere. Code 88323 is for consultation when the referred material requires preparation.
Does 88321 include preparing new slides?
No. The service is the pathologist’s review and report on slides prepared by another laboratory.
When would 88325 be a better fit?
88325 describes a more comprehensive consultation involving review of records and specimens. 88321 is focused on the referred slides.
What documentation supports reporting 88321?
Document the slides reviewed, their outside source, the consultation request, and the pathologist’s findings and conclusions in the report.
Can the original tissue examination report support 88321 by itself?
No. The record should show a separate consultation based on the outside-prepared slides and include the consulting pathologist’s report.
Where these rates come from
FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense, and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indices and the applicable conversion factor. Unavailable or separately priced services are labeled rather than assigned a made-up amount.
Source: RVU26D. Effective 2026-10-01 through the day before 2027-01-01.
11,22788319,,Enzyme histochemistry,A,,0.52,3.40,,3.40,NA,0.03,3.95,3.95,1,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
11,22888319,26,Enzyme histochemistry,A,,0.52,0.23,,0.23,,0.01,0.76,0.76,1,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
11,22988319,TC,Enzyme histochemistry,A,,0.00,3.17,,3.17,NA,0.02,3.19,3.19,1,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
11,23088321,,Consltj&reprt sld prep elswr,A,,1.59,1.15,,0.36,,0.07,2.81,2.02,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
11,23188323,,Consltj&reprt matrl prep sld,A,,1.78,1.58,,1.58,NA,0.02,3.38,3.38,1,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
11,23288323,26,Consltj&reprt matrl prep sld,A,,1.78,0.70,,0.70,,0.01,2.49,2.49,1,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
11,23388323,TC,Consltj&reprt matrl prep sld,A,,0.00,0.88,,0.88,NA,0.01,0.89,0.89,1,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
9214412,RI,01,RHODE ISLAND,1.019,1.033,0.892
9311202,SC,01,SOUTH CAROLINA,1.000,0.924,0.850
9403402,SD,02,SOUTH DAKOTA**,1.000,1.000,0.336
9510312,TN,35,TENNESSEE,1.000,0.909,0.537
9604412,TX,31,AUSTIN,1.002,1.058,0.886
9704412,TX,20,BEAUMONT,1.000,0.910,0.929
9804412,TX,09,BRAZORIA,1.008,0.991,0.780