Heart & EKG codes

Heart tests, the EKG family in particular, are a classic unbundling trap. A standard EKG can be billed as one complete code that already includes both the tracing and the doctor's interpretation — or, improperly, as the complete code plus its tracing-only and interpretation-only components charged separately on top. The codes below explain what each heart-test code covers and how to tell whether you were billed once for the whole test or several times for its pieces.

• 93000 EKG with interpretation (the complete test)
• 93005 EKG tracing only, no interpretation (the technical part)