tci ED Coding & Reimbursement Alert - 2010 Issue 10

Reader Questions: Choose Highest-Level of Burn 1st on Dx List

Question: After a level-two ED E/M service, the physician performs local burn treatment with debridement of a second-degree burn on a patient's left forearm. The patient also is diagnosed with some small patches of first degree burns in the same area How should I order the diagnosis codes for this treatment?Indiana SubscriberAnswer: When the patient suffers burns of differing severity in the same anatomical area, diagnosis coding rules require that you code the most severe burn first. On the claim, report the following:16020 (Dressings and/or debridement of partial-thickness burns, initial or subsequent; small [less than 5% total body...

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