tci ED Coding & Reimbursement Alert - 2010 Issue 2

You Be the Coder : Diagnosis Coding for Multiple Burns

Question: A patient is brought to the ED via ambulance after standing too close to a Roman candle during an amateur fireworks show at a Super Bowl party. He is wheezing, complaining of chest pain, and has burns to his upper right arm. After a level-four E/M service that included chest x-rays and breathing tests, the physician diagnoses first and second-degree burns to the upper right arm. The physician performs debridement of the burns, which total 6 percent of total body surface area (TBSA); there is no mention of thirddegree burn. How should I code this scenario? Florida Subscriber...

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