DEXA scan including Body Fat % (corrected title)

I just got my annual labs done, and my PCP put in an order for a DEXA scan (my last one showed some bone loss in one hip, so we want to repeat it to be sure my increases calcium is sufficient). 

Several people here have mentioned having their body fat percentage [I mistakenly wrote "BMI" here in my original post] determined during a DEXA scan.  My PCP said he is happy to order that as well, but he has never heard of it and doesn't know HOW to order it.  Is there a particular name for the body fat determination, or should he be able to just tell them that?  Is there a procedure code for it?

I did a preliminary Google search but didn't find anything.

Lora

Ooo! I'd be interested to know, too, since I have to have a scan done soon!

When I checked into it last year I would have had to go to a large university with a physiology program. I was going to go to the University of Miami and have it done.  The cost was $50.  I never did it yet because I barely have time to do all the other things I need to do in my life right now.  Read this article on Dexa BMI

When I had my scan done last year, I asked if they could do it.  The tech said the machine wasn't calibrated/set up to do those readings.  In other words, no.  Same machine used, but, unless you get someone who routinely does both tests, they won't or can't do both.

Why would you need a DEXA scan to determine your BMI? Isn't it a simple mathematical calculation?

As Grim said, I meant body fat %.  It had been a long day with little sleep the night before when I posted this.

OK, that makes sense.

When I had my DEXA scan, I was told that it was a gold standard for body composition, but it was generally used for research. Now I am learning that Lifetime fitness in the MN area has bought a scanner, and hired a DR to write the orders to do the scan. 

I don't think the DEXA will do BMI - Tom has said that some DEXA scans can do body fat percentage (a body composition analysis).  My hospital's DEXA machine doesn't perform that so I was out of luck.  

At first I was going to ask why you would need that, but after reading Sonja's linked article about it (and a few more on other sites), it is very interesting! Of course we can calculate our BMI through simple numbers, but having scientific measures through X-ray is very... well, neat to say the least! Especially since bone density health is helped by muscle mass.

Let us know if you're able to have this done, very interesting!

Karen