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Billing code

G648A — Continuous ECG monitoring (Holter) Level 1 – technical component (scanning) – 14 or more days

Level-1 Holter scanning, 14+ days

Bill G648 for the technical scanning part of Level 1 continuous ECG monitoring lasting 14 days or more.

Watch for: Payable once per 30 days per patient; not payable for hospital in-patients.

Code

G648A

Description

Continuous ECG monitoring (Holter) Level 1 – technical component (scanning) – 14 or more days

FHO+ basket

Not in the FHO+ base rate basket (Schedule 2 or 2B).

Effective date

Apr 1, 2026

Termination date

No end date

Explanation

Updated October 26, 2026

Level 1 continuous ambulatory ECG (Holter-type) monitoring, technical component (scanning), for a recording of 14 or more days. Once per 30 days.

What it covers

G648 is the technical component (scanning) of Level 1 continuous ECG monitoring (for example Holter) for 14 or more days (J16).

Level 1 needs a device that records three or more channels at once, captures every beat continuously with three or more skin electrodes, allows analysis and manual review of all parts of the recording, produces graphical and quantitative reports, and has a patient diary and event marker. Minimum 12 hours of monitoring (J16).

Billing rules

• Minimum 12 hours of monitoring; the device must meet the Level 1 definition (J16).
• Maximum one professional component, one technical recording component and one technical scanning component per patient, per recording (J16).
• For recordings over 36 hours, bill the code for that duration; don't bill multiples of shorter-duration codes (J17).
• The 14-days-or-more codes (G647, G648, G649, G694, G695, G696) are payable once per 30 days per patient (J17).
• External loop recorders that rely only on patient activation and can't analyze rhythm in real time are not insured (J17).
• The report must state the number of channels, whether the recording was continuous, whether analysis was real-time, post-hoc or both, and the device manufacturer and model (J17).
• The technical component is not payable for hospital in-patients, or when the patient is admitted to the same hospital for the same condition within 24 hours; in a hospital it pays 86.10% of the listed fee (GP11).
• To bill a technical component you need the training to render it yourself and documented quality-assurance monitoring (GP11).

Often billed with

• G647 technical recording component for the same recording (J16).
• G649 professional component for the same recording (J16).

Related codes: G647, G649, G694, G695, G696

Source: Schedule of Benefits (July 1, 2026), Diagnostic and Therapeutic Procedures, Electrocardiography (ECG) – Continuous ECG Monitoring, page J16; notes J17.

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