The history of radiology goes back to 1895 when Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen “discovered” the x-ray, describing the properties of this previously unknown type of electromagnetic radiation in stunning detail. In the early 1900s, people started using x-rays for all sorts of things, even for purposes such as helping to fit shoes! The medical uses of x-rays were the only applications that persisted, though, as the dangers of ionizing radiation were discovered.

At first, all sorts of medical and non-medical professionals used x-rays in hospitals and clinics. Everyone from doctors and nurses to engineers and photographers could use x-rays, and they didn’t typically have any kind of specialized training. It wasn’t long until a professional subset of the medical community was built up around the field of radiography, though. Newer and safer diagnostic testing techniques were developed, and specialized training was required to operate the machines used for these tests. Radiographers emerged as a new type of medical professional with the specialized training to adapt to this new technology.

New technologies developed in the field of radiology throughout the 1940s, ’50s, ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, from fluoroscopy and mammography, to tomography and ultrasound, to nuclear medicine and computed tomography. Magnetic Resonance Imaging, also known as MRIs, emerged in the 1950s-although extensive research was not done until the 1970s, and the technology wasn’t used on humans until 1984.

Digital radiography, also known as computed radiography, did not emerge until the 1970s. This technology uses imaging cassettes of phosphor to create digital images. The invention of the computed tomography scanner, or CT scan, developed from an early application in 1967 that led to a prototype in 1971 by Allan McLeod Cormack and Godfrey Hounsfield. » Read more: Radiology History

We all know this year CPT introduced 200 new codes to help you code more accurately than ever. For your podiatry practice, the big change trains eyes on a couple of new codes to code diabetic foot ulcer treatment involving tissue cultured skin substitutes to the lower extremity.

While reporting diabetic foot ulcer treatment involving tissue cultured skin substitutes to the lower extremity for a Medicare beneficiary this year use temporary G codes. This year CPT introduced G0440 and G0441 to put to rest the confusion providers put forth the different global periods for a couple of tissue cultured skin substitute codes.

This year, you can forget about 76880 as CPT deletes this code to make way for a couple of new codes: 76881, 76882.

A complete procedure (76881) includes real time scans of a specific joint that includes examination of the muscles, tendons, joint, other soft-tissue structures, and any identifiable abnormality. A limited study (76882) involves examining the extremity where a specific anatomic structure such as a tendon or muscle is assessed. You’d also use 76882 to assess a soft-tissue mass that may be present in an extremity where knowledge of its cystic or solid characteristics is required.

Bear in mind that when the podi atrist carries out spectral and color Doppler evaluation of the extremities, you should use the proper code in association with 76881 or 76882. In the mean time, CPT 2011 revises and revalues codes for noninvasive physiologic studies of the upper or lower extremity arteries: 93922, 93923, 93924.

You will find 93922-93924′s code descriptors visibly differentiating between a limited study and a complete bilateral study, with more instructions on how to report these codes properly.

And yes, you should not forget debridement and active wound care. You will never have to worry about selecting a debridement code and an active wound code as this year’s CPT saves you the day by revising debridement code guidelines to rid the confusion. » Read more: Podiatry Coding – New Codes for Diabetic Foot Ulcer Treatment