Are Your Properly Billing CPT 97012?

According to the current AMA Coding guidelines, 97012 is improper to use with anything other than mechanical traction. When clarifying around the use of roller tables with 97012 they have said: “The chiropractic roller table is a device that has adjustable mechanical rollers requiring stationary, supine positioning of a patient. The rollers can be adjusted for height and do not require constant one-on-one attendance with the patient to create a massaging effect along the spine. Tension via the adjustable rollers can create traction forces resulting in separation between vertebral joint surfaces. A review of the literature at the time of this printing does not support a roller table meeting the requirement of auto traction that requires the use of the body’s own weight to create sufficient force allowing for separation between joint surfaces, that may be reported with 97012, Application of a modality to one or more areas; traction, mechanical."

Essentially, this code does NOT support the use of roller tables, over-the-door traction, or manual (hands on) traction and it’s up to the provider to be aware of these kinds of rules. Billing with what is perceived as a deceiving code could be dangerous and cause issues or flag for audits.

If you are currently using 97012 for use of a roller table, over-the-door traction, or manual (hands on) traction, it is highly recommended by Bushido Billing that you cease billing that code immediately. If you would like suggestions for a replacement code for your previous use of 97012, please send a detailed description of your service to sara.hansen@bushidbilling.com and she can provide some suggestion(s) on a better code that is compliant with the current definitions.