Fracture

“I have a patient who suffered a Lisfranc injury that resulted in nondisplaced fractures of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd metatarsal bases. There was no disruption of the alignment of the midfoot. We decided that conservative treatment was the most appropriate option for the patient and this injury. She was casted using fiberglass. I am planning to code this treatment as CPT 28470 Closed treatment of metatarsal fracture; without manipulation, each. I was using the APMA Coding Resource Center and noticed that there is “MUE 2″ for this code. Does this affect how many metatarsal fractures that I can bill for during this treatment?”

If a patient comes into the office/clinic and is diagnosed for example with a fracture at the base of the 5th metatarsal on the right foot and the physician eventually plans to operate on the fracture, there are a few options to explore and consider.

​​​​​​​“I saw a patient on March 20, 2020 with a new, mildly displaced 3rd metatarsal fracture (S92.332A). I have been following him since then and have billed Anthem Blue Cross with ICD10 S92.331D and have gotten reimbursed. The last visit I had with the patient was August 17, 2020 and billed Anthem Blue Cross for S92.332S. The claim was denied as Missing/incomplete/invalid principal diagnosis. Isn’t S92.332S a valid primary diagnosis code?”

“My patient suffered blunt trauma to his right hallux and suffered non-displaced fractures of the distal and proximal phalanx. We are going to treat this injury conservatively. Would it be appropriate to bill CPT 28490 two times to represent the treatment of both phalanx?”

“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?”