FibroScan®
Use of FibroScan® by Primary Care Physicians (PCPs)
As a diagnostic and assessment tool, PCPs primarily use FibroScan® for NAFLD screening and to determine its severity. The objective in care provided by PCPs is to rule out the presence of fibrosis and likelihood of advanced disease by utilizing NITs with high negative predictive values (NPV).
In cases where there is not a requirement for more specialized care, sequential testing is a reasonable strategy for PCPs to risk stratify NAFLD in patients. PCPs can also use FIB-4 alone to assess patients, though this can result in indeterminate scores, leading to the need for additional NITs, like FibroScan®, or specialist referrals.
Use of FibroScan® by Specialists
Specialists utilize a combination of NITs to increase the positive predictive value (PPV) in order to effectively identify liver disease and make the correct diagnosis. FibroScan® is the hepatologist’s stethoscope to assess the liver’s vital scans – the Controlled Attenuation Parameter (CAP™) number for steatosis and the vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE™).
In a large Phase 3 2019 clinical trial, simultaneous use of two NITs to discriminate atrial fibrillation (AF) — typically FIB-4 and LSM by VCTE (FibroScan) — the positive predictive value was in the 99% range.
Practice Utilization and Reimbursement Guidelines
FibroScan® is a reimbursable, point-of-care diagnostic tool used by primary care and specialist practices as part of the diagnostic y and management algorithm for chronic liver patients. In September 2022, Echosens published its updated Market Access Guide to help providers understand how to incorporate elastography, into practice. This guide includes Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) and ICD-10 codes that may be applicable to elastography and its associated services so that providers may optimize reimbursement for its liver program regardless of the care setting. Furthermore, Echosens established a Market Access Hotline to answer any questions providers may have regarding coding, reimbursement and implementation. The Market Access Guide and the hotline are available to answer common questions related to elastography coding and billing.
Learn more about our Market Access Guide .
For additional Market Access Support, please contact:
Phone: 866-905-4837 (option 4)
