CPT code 74177

What does CPT code 74177 mean on a medical bill?

This is a CT scan covering both your belly and your pelvis, done with contrast dye. It is the usual scan for unexplained abdominal pain in an emergency room, and one code is meant to cover both areas together. If your bill also carries separate lines for a belly scan and a pelvic scan from the same trip to the scanner, that is one scan billed in pieces, which normally adds up to more than the combined line.

What does CPT code 74177 usually cost?

Splits into a hospital charge for the scanner and a radiologist charge for the reading, and the dye may appear again as its own supply line. The same scan is priced differently at a hospital than at a freestanding imaging center.

What should I watch out for with CPT code 74177?

• Separate belly and pelvis scans billed for the same images this combined code already covers
• A scan billed with dye when the report says the study was done without it
• Two readings billed for one set of images, often by two different radiology groups