# CPT 78492

> Not at a published national rate. CPT 78492 carries status C (carrier-priced) in the Q3 2017 release. Your Medicare Administrative Contractor prices this code case by case, usually after reviewing documentation. Treat the blank amount as unpriced, not as $0.

## What it is

Blood-flow imaging of the heart muscle done with a PET scanner instead of a conventional gamma camera. A short-lived tracer such as rubidium or ammonia is injected, and PET records where it reaches the heart wall, generally with sharper images and better correction for body habitus than SPECT, plus the ability to put an actual number on blood flow. This is the multiple-study entry, meaning imaging is performed both at rest and under pharmacologic stress so the two can be compared; the companion code covers a single study alone.

## Selected release

- Release: Q3 2017 (2017 C)
- Effective: July 1 – September 30, 2017
- Status indicator: C
- Office (non-facility) national allowed amount: not published
- Facility national allowed amount: not published
- Sequestration: not applied

## RVUs and formula

- Work RVU: not published
- Office (non-facility) practice expense RVU: not published
- Facility practice expense RVU: not published
- Malpractice RVU: not published
- Conversion factor: 35.8887
- Formula: `(work_rvu × work_gpci + pe_rvu × pe_gpci + mp_rvu × mp_gpci) × conversion_factor`

## Source and citation

- Source: Physician relative value file (Q3 2017)
- CMS file: https://www.cms.gov/medicare/medicare-fee-for-service-payment/physicianfeesched/downloads/rvu17c.zip
- Parsed file: PPRRVU17_JULY_V0503.csv, row 13,086
- Canonical page: https://localishealth.com/cpt/78492/2014/B
- Release-specific citation URL: https://localishealth.com/cpt/78492/2017/C
- Last significant update: 2026-08-04T03:07:49+00:00