Think of it as being graded on the curve. If you score a 95 on a test you think you have a good grade, but if class average on that test was a 98 you will get a poor grade. Scoring for quality measures is similar to that type of grading.
“My practice involves a lot of wound care and I frequently take patients to the operating room for a debridement involving a wound and bone with osteomyelitis. I always code this type of procedure as CPT 11043 and CPT 11044. I feel that this is justified because I am debriding the soft tissue structures (CPT 11043) but also the bone (CPT 11044). I was discussing this with a colleague and she suggested that this might not be appropriate.”
“What code would you recommend for the excision of a pressure ulcer? Here is an excerpt from the operative report: “Attention was directed to the left plantar medical foot at the level of the arch where an approximately 3 cm round chronic ulceration with underlying bursa formation was noted. At this time, an elliptical incision was made in a 3:1 fashion running in line with the foot from toe to heel. This incision was deepened through subcutaneous tissues with care being taken to identify and retract all vital neurovascular structures. At this time, dissection scissors were utilized in order to remove the chronic ulceration with underlying bursa. The skin margins were then separated in order to free up and allow for skin closure.”
“I had a patient present to the clinic with multiple, minimally displaced toe fractures. She has Medicare and we are planning to treat all four of these conservatively. When and how do I use CPT code 28510?”
