tci ED Coding & Reimbursement Alert - 1999 Issue 10
Understanding the Terminology: Open vs. Closed Fracture
Some coders confuse the indication of an open or closed fracture to mean that the treatment of that injury was open or closed, when, in fact, these terms mean two different things.An open fracture is one where the skin overlying the fracture has been violated through the subcutaneous tissue, explains John Stimler, DO, FACEP, a practicing emergency physician in Jacksonville, FL, and a past president of the Florida chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians. Often, this is because one end of a fractured bone has punctured the skin. However, a laceration or puncture wound over the...
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