Multi-Laceration Repair Coding Case Studies
Posted on 29. Jun, 2009 by Editor in Hot Coding Topics
Do you know when to code repairs that occur in same area separately? Find out here.
Patients often report to the ED with multiple lacerations — and coding will vary depending on several factors.
Remember: “The location and type of closure will tell you whether to add [the repairs] together or use separate codes,” says Kevin Arnold, CPC, business manager for the Emergency Medicine Department at Connecticut’s Norwalk Hospital. Check out these brief case studies so you can cut to the quick when coding more than one laceration fix on the same patient.
Case 1: Cuts of the Same Severity, Location
The first step in coding multi-laceration repairs is to “look to the type of closures; if they are the same type … and both repairs are located in the same anatomical location, then you would add them together,” explains Arnold.
For example, the ED physician performs a 2.1 cm intermediate repair on a patient’s left ear, and an intermediate 3.4 cm repair on her left cheek.
In this instance, you would add the repair lengths (2.1 + 3.4 = 5.5) and choose 12053 (Repair, intermediate, wounds of face, ears, eyelids, nose, lips, and/or mucous membranes; 5.1 cm to 7.5 cm) for the encounter.
Case 2: Cuts of Differing Severity, Same Locale
If the patient has lacerations in the same anatomical grouping, but the severity differs, report a code for each repair, Arnold confirms. For example, the ED physician performs intermediate repair of a 2.3 cm cut on a patient’s right shoulder, and a simple repair of a 3.4 cm laceration on the patient’s lower back.
In this instance, you would report the following:
• 12031 (Repair,...
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