tci ED Coding & Reimbursement Alert - 2008 Issue 10

Reader Questions: Modifier 51 Marks Multiple-Surgery Encounters

Question: A patient reports to the ED with two cuts on his right forearm: a deep 6-cm laceration near the elbow, and a 3-cm superficial laceration near the wrist. After a level-three E/M, the physician preps and drapes the patient's arm, performs layered closure on the deep wound, and a single-layer closure on the shallow wound. There was not complication or tendon involvement in either of the injuries. Can I report two surgical codes for this encounter? Tennessee Subscriber Answer: You should be able to report two surgical codes for this encounter. But since the physician only had to...

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