CPT Codes

“What is the date that fracture care begins? Is it the date of the injury or is it the date of service when the doctor makes the decision for closed management of a fracture?”

“Has anyone else noticed Novitas is not approving E/M codes for treating onychomycosis medically? I saw a patient for evaluation of a discolored toenail. She was concerned it might be a fungal infection and wanted to treat the condition before it worsened. I obtained an H/P, a specimen for culture and discussed treatment options depending on culture results. I billed CPT 99212 with diagnosis code B35.1. The EOB read $0 payment. Code 49 “These are non-covered services because this is a routine exam or screening procedure done in conjunction with a routine exam. Any advice?”

“I performed a partial 1st ray amputation that included the hallux and part of the 1st metatarsal. The site did not heal, and a new infection developed at the amputation site. The result is a return to the operating room for a right trans-metatarsal amputation. For the subsequent surgery, I used Modifier 78. After all, this was an unplanned return to the operating room. I evaluated the patient post operatively and I am wondering which date should I be using for the 90-day global period?”

“Since the global period for a toe amputation is now zero days, does that mean I bill for removing sutures in the office when I do a follow up visit in 14 days? Billing for this, seems very uncomfortable to me.”

“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?”

“I have several healthy Medicare patients that have painful calluses. These patients come to my office, sometimes monthly complaining of painful callouses. I understand that Medicare does not cover the routine trimming of calluses in healthy patients. However, I have been billing CPT 99212-13 with the diagnosis codes of L84 (corns and callous), M77.4X (metatarsalgia). The documented management plan for L84 is discussion of moisturizing the feet, not waking barefoot, etc. and then I debride the callus. The documented management plan for metatarsalgia is discussion of metatarsalgia and surgical options, and then I place felt padding in the shoe, or modify the shoe to take pressure off the callus. My patients rarely follow my advice for moisturizing and not going barefoot; so ultimately, the calluses come back. Is this appropriate billing? The treatment I provide is instrumental in preventing a wound or ulceration from occurring (which I also document). Also, it relieves the patient of pain. Is it appropriate to bill an E/M code in lieu of a procedure code if the procedure is not covered?”

“I am having trouble finding an appropriate code to bill for a procedure to remove tophaceous material at a toe. The location was the left 2nd toe. This was performed in the office and a digital block was utilized to obtain anesthesia at the toe. Using a 3mm dermal curette, approximately 1 mL of tophaceous material was removed and a sterile gauze dressing applied. I planned to use ICD-10 M1A-0721. What CPT would be appropriate in this situation?”

“On February 11, a patient has a transmetatarsal amputation. The patient is a non-compliant, diabetic. The site deteriorates weeks after he leaves the hospital. On March 24, he was readmitted for an infected at the amputation site. On March 26, the remaining 5 metatarsals stumps are removed, and the wound is kept open. How would you recommend coding for the 2nd surgery? What is the code for removing the 5 remaining metatarsal stumps?”