tci ED Coding & Reimbursement Alert - 2005 Issue 3

READER QUESTIONS: You Don't Need a Blade to Report Incisions

Question: To bill for removal of a foreign body, the physician must perform an incision, right? We had a patient with a fishing hook stuck in his foot. The physician wrote, "Cleansed with betadine, barb advanced and brought out, barb snipped off, rest of hook retracted." Can we report an FBR for this?Arizona Subscriber Answer: Most foreign-body removals do require an incision, and depending on the method of removal, many fishhook retrievals involve an incision made by pushing the barb through another area of the skin to cut it off.Your doctor's note states, "barb advanced and...

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