Billing code 78473: Gated heart imagingMedicare rate & RVUs in Utah
Reports multiple gated equilibrium cardiac blood-pool imaging studies, commonly rest and stress acquisitions, to assess ventricular function and wall motion.
Medicare pays $253.57 for 78473 in the office in Utah (Utah). 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 78473 covers
This study uses a radiotracer and ECG-gated gamma-camera imaging to track blood within the heart chambers over the cardiac cycle. Multiple acquisitions, often at rest and with stress, allow assessment of ventricular function, ejection fraction, and wall motion. Nuclear medicine technologists typically acquire the images; a qualified physician interprets them in hospital or outpatient imaging settings. The test may be used to evaluate ventricular performance, including in patients with heart failure or when cardiac function is being monitored during treatment.
Report 78473 when the service includes multiple gated equilibrium studies, rather than a single study. Documentation should identify the acquisitions performed and support the interpretation of cardiac function and wall motion. The service has professional and technical components: modifier 26 identifies the interpretation, modifier TC identifies the equipment-and-staff service, and no modifier represents 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.
78473 in Utah
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Utah | $253.57 | Unavailable |
How the 78473 rate is calculated
Each of 78473’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 · 78473
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
Work 1.43Practice expense 6.45Malpractice 0.11
All indexes start at 1.000 (the national rate). Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 78473
The CMS indicators that decide how 78473 is paid alongside other services.
CMS payment indicators · 78473
Gated heart imaging
| Rule | CMS value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Global period | XXX | The global surgery concept doesn’t apply. |
| Multiple procedures | 6 | Diagnostic cardiovascular reduction applies to the technical component. |
| 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
78473 without 26 · national office
$266.87
Gated heart imaging
78473-26 · Professional component
$67.80
Pays only the interpretation and report.
78473 compared with similar codes
Compare codes
78473 vs 78472 vs 78483 vs 78494 vs 78452: national Medicare rates
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
How to choose
- 78472Cardiac blood-pool imaging
- 78472 is for one gated equilibrium study; 78473 is for multiple studies, commonly performed at rest and stress.
- 78483First-pass cardiac imaging
- 78483 reports multiple first-pass blood-pool studies. 78473 reports multiple gated equilibrium studies; select according to the acquisition technique.
- 78494Cardiac blood-pool imaging
- 78494 is gated equilibrium blood-pool imaging with SPECT at rest. 78473 represents multiple equilibrium studies and is not the SPECT-specific code.
- 78452Nuclear stress test
- 78452 reports multiple SPECT myocardial perfusion studies, assessing myocardial perfusion. 78473 evaluates cardiac blood-pool function using gated equilibrium imaging.
78473 billing questions
How does 78473 differ from 78472?
78473 represents multiple gated equilibrium studies, commonly rest and stress acquisitions. Use 78472 for a single study.
How should the professional and technical services be reported?
Use modifier 26 for the physician’s interpretation and modifier TC for the technical service. Report without a modifier when billing the global service.
Does the multiple procedure reduction affect the entire service?
The cardiovascular diagnostic multiple procedure reduction applies to the technical component of 78473.
What documentation supports reporting 78473 instead of 78472?
Record the multiple gated equilibrium acquisitions performed and the findings used to assess ventricular function or wall motion.
Can 78483 be used instead for multiple cardiac studies?
78483 describes multiple first-pass cardiac blood-pool studies. Choose between it and 78473 based on the imaging technique performed, not simply the number of acquisitions.
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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