Global, 26, and TC
A global claim covers both the interpretation and the technical work. Reads alone go out with modifier 26, and the equipment side goes out with modifier TC. Mixing these up leads quickly to denials or duplicate-payment flags.
Who owns the read, and who owns the scanner?
Radiology claims split along the professional and technical components, and the split changes with the site of service. Before you move billing, lay out which studies you bill globally, which you bill as reads only, and which a hospital bills for you.
Book a demoWhere radiology claims split
Medicare pays most imaging under the physician fee schedule, but the component you bill depends on where the study happened and who owns the equipment.
Hospital and facility reads
When the patient is a hospital inpatient or outpatient, the hospital bills the technical side. Your group bills the professional component, so your claim depends on accurate patient status and facility details from someone else's system.
Orders and diagnosis codes
Diagnostic tests need a treating practitioner's order. Diagnosis coding follows the final report when a finding is confirmed and falls back to the signs and symptoms on the order when it is not, which takes discipline at high read volumes.
Draw the line between the reading room and billing
Radiology groups often depend on a referring office or hospital for demographics, orders, and insurance. Decide who fixes each gap.
What the group keeps
Radiologists sign final reports and approve coding. The group also keeps its reading agreements with hospitals and imaging centers, which decide who bills which component.
What Taiga takes on
Taiga's managed billing covers claim submission and scrubbing against payer rules, eligibility checks, denial and appeal work, and patient statements. Ask how its code drafting and physician approval step would apply to interpretation reports.
Where a decision is needed
Missing orders, wrong patient status, and authorization gaps usually start at the referring site. Agree up front who chases those, and whether technical claims for any owned equipment are in scope.
Questions for a radiology fit call
Bring de-identified examples of a global claim, a professional-only read, and a recent denial. Keep patient details out of the booking form.
What is your component mix?
Estimate how much of your volume is professional-only, technical-only, and global, broken out by site.
Where do reports and orders live?
Name the RIS, PACS, or EHR that holds final reports, and how orders and insurance data reach you from referring offices and hospitals.
Which payers require authorization?
List the plans that want approval before advanced imaging, and who in your workflow requests it today.
For groups that read and bill their own studies
Most useful to an independent radiology group or office-based imaging practice that wants one partner to own claim follow-through, from scrubbing to the last small-dollar appeal.
No component or coverage rulings here
This page maps billing questions. It does not decide which component you may bill in a given setting or whether a study is covered; CMS Chapter 13 and your payer contracts govern that.
Questions about diagnostic radiology billing
Does Taiga bill for radiology groups?
Diagnostic radiology is not one of the specialties Taiga names publicly. Bring your component mix and payer list, and Taiga will tell you straight whether it fits.
When do we add modifier 26 instead of billing globally?
Use 26 when you bill only the interpretation, such as a read for a hospital patient where the hospital bills the technical side. A global claim assumes you also furnished the technical work.
Can Taiga work from our existing systems?
Taiga works alongside a practice's existing EHR rather than replacing it. Confirm on a call how reports from your RIS or PACS would reach the billing team.
How long does it take to start?
Taiga's onboarding is about two weeks to first claim, and it can take over open A/R or run in parallel with your current billing. For radiology, that assumes fit is confirmed first.
Bring your component mix
Show Taiga how your reads split across global, professional, and technical claims. You will get a straight answer on whether it fits.
System guides show possible billing handoffs, not proven specialty compatibility.