tci ED Coding & Reimbursement Alert - 2009 Issue 14

You Be the Coder: Get All the Facts Before Coding Foot FBR

Question: A patient presents to the ED with an abrasion and two small splinters in his left medial heel. According to the procedure note, the physician cleans the area with normal saline and infiltrates the area with 0.5 ml of xylocaine without epinephrine. Then, the physician uses a scalpel to cut a tiny 'x' over the injured area. Using an 18-gauge needle, she removes two bits of gravel and wraps the area with sterile gauze. How should I code this foreign body removal (FBR)? Maine Subscriber Answer: Code choice will depend on how deep the physician had to...

To read the full article, sign in and subscribe to tci ED Coding & Reimbursement Alert.

Thank you for choosing Find-A-Code, please Sign In to remove ads.