CPT 93325 is the add-on code for color flow Doppler velocity mapping. Like its spectral counterpart, it is straightforward to bill correctly and very easy to bill wrongly, because the most common base code in cardiology already contains it.
What CPT 93325 covers
93325 is Doppler echocardiography color flow velocity mapping, reported in addition to the code for the echocardiographic imaging. Color flow is the overlay that makes regurgitant jets, shunts and turbulent flow visible, and it is distinct work from spectral Doppler quantification.
Where 93325 belongs, and where it does not
- Correct: alongside the base codes CPT lists for it, including the limited transthoracic study 93308, transesophageal and congenital echocardiography, stress echocardiography (93350, 93351) and fetal echocardiography.
- Incorrect: alongside 93306, which already includes color flow Doppler.
- Incorrect: alongside 93307. CPT excludes the pairing; a complete study with Doppler is 93306.
Reimbursement context
93325 is a low-value line that matters through volume.
2026 Medicare RVUs for CPT 93325
| CPT 93325: 2026 Medicare RVUs (national, before GPCI) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Line | Work | PE, non-facility | PE, facility | Malpractice | Total, non-facility | Total, facility |
| Global (no modifier) | 0.07 | 0.64 | NA | 0.00 | 0.71 | NA |
| Professional (modifier 26) | 0.07 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.00 | 0.10 | 0.10 |
| Technical (modifier TC) | 0.00 | 0.61 | NA | 0.00 | 0.61 | NA |
Source: CMS CY 2026 PFS Relative Value File, RVU26D (October release, published 08/26/2026). RVUs are national and unadjusted; commercial payers set their own rates.
In the 2026 CMS relative value file, CPT 93325 carries 0.07 work RVUs and 0.71 total RVUs when billed globally in a non-facility setting. The global line is NA in a facility, because there the physician bills the professional component only and the facility bills the technical side. Its PC/TC indicator is 1: the code splits into a professional component (modifier 26, 0.10 total RVUs) and a technical component (modifier TC, 0.61 total RVUs), and the global line is billed only when one entity does both. Its global indicator is ZZZ: it is an add-on code, always reported with its primary service and falling inside that service's global period.
To turn RVUs into payment, each component is multiplied by your locality's geographic practice cost index, the three are added, and the sum is multiplied by the 2026 conversion factor: $33.4009, or $33.5675 for qualifying APM participants (CMS-1832-F; CMS fact sheet). The CMS Physician Fee Schedule Look-Up Tool runs that calculation for your locality.
Documentation requirements
- Color flow findings named explicitly, not folded into a general statement about Doppler.
- Description of any regurgitation, shunt or turbulent flow identified, with severity where assessed.
- The base study documented in full.
- Retained images supporting the color flow findings.
- A signed interpretation covering those findings.
Medicare contractor billing articles. Each Medicare Administrative Contractor publishes its own billing and coding articles for this service, and the covered diagnoses differ by jurisdiction. Active examples in the CMS Medicare Coverage Database, checked September 28, 2026: A57306 (Transthoracic Echocardiography (TTE), CGS), A56781 (Transthoracic Echocardiography (TTE), Wellpoint Federal) and A56625 (Echocardiography, Palmetto GBA). Use the article from the contractor that processes your claims.
Common denials and the exact fix
Billed with 93306
Color flow Doppler is already inside 93306, so the add-on denies with no override available.
Fix: remove the line. Separate reporting requires a base code that genuinely excludes Doppler.
Add-on billed without a base code
93325 cannot stand alone on a claim.
Fix: confirm an eligible base code is present for the same date of service.
Modifier 51 appended
Add-on codes are exempt from multiple-procedure reductions.
Fix: submit with no 51.
Color flow not distinguished from spectral Doppler in the report
Where both add-ons are billed, a report that refers only to "Doppler" supports neither cleanly.
Fix: name spectral and color flow findings separately in the report template.
Modifier rules
- 51: never, as with all add-on codes.
- 26 / TC: follows the base study's component split.
- 59 / XE / XP / XS / XU: not an override for the 93306 edit.
NCCI bundling edits
- 93325 with 93306: included, no modifier override.
- 93325 with 93307: not reported together per CPT.
- 93325 with 93308: reportable where color flow was performed and documented.
- 93325 with 93320: both reportable with an eligible base code when both were performed and documented.
- 93325 with 93350 or 93351: stress echocardiography codes appear on its companion list, so color flow performed and documented during the stress study is reportable.
Frequently asked questions
Why does CPT 93325 deny when billed with 93306?
Which base codes make 93325 payable?
Can 93320 and 93325 both be billed on the same study?
Sources
American Medical Association, CPT 2026 Professional Edition.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CY 2026 PFS Relative Value File RVU26D (October release): RVUs, PC/TC indicator and global period for CPT 93325.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CY 2026 Physician Fee Schedule final rule, CMS-1832-F: conversion factors.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, National Correct Coding Initiative Policy Manual for Medicare Services and quarterly procedure-to-procedure edit tables.
Medicare Coverage Database billing and coding articles A57306, A56781, A56625.
CPT® is a registered trademark of the American Medical Association. Payer policy and NCCI edits change quarterly, so check your own contractor before submission. How we verify this guidance.
Related codes
- CPT 93306. Complete TTE with spectral and color flow Doppler.
- CPT 93320. Spectral Doppler add-on.
- CPT 93308. Limited or follow-up echo.
Related reading
- Cardiology billing & RCM. How we scrub cardiology claims across diagnostics, cath lab, EP and remote monitoring.
- Echocardiography billing: complete vs. limited studies. What separates a defensible complete echo from a limited one.
- TC/26 modifier errors in cardiology. The split-billing mistakes that cost diagnostic practices the most.
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