tci ED Coding & Reimbursement Alert - 2024 Issue Q1

You Be the Coder: Multiple Laceration Repairs

Question: Encounter notes indicate that the ED physician treated two wounds to a patient’s face: a 4.2 cm simple wound and a 2.0 cm intermediate wound. Should I add up the repair lengths and choose a procedure code based on that number? Alaska Subscriber Answer: No, you should not add the repair lengths for this encounter because even though the repairs were in the same anatomical area, they were not of the same severity. Instead, you will report: 12051 (Repair, intermediate, wounds of face, ears, eyelids, nose, lips and/or mucous membranes; 2.5 cm or less)...

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