tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2011 Issue 1

Reader Questions: Infections May Transcend Global

Question:A patient receives oral antibiotics in the office nine days after an incision and drainage procedure due to an infection at the surgical site. Does this still fall under 10060's 10-day global period or can we code this separately using modifier 24?Tennessee SubscriberAnswer: Although this certainly falls within 10060's (Incision and drainage of abscess ...) (I&D) 10-day global period for surgical packages, you must consider whether the post-op infection is directly related to the surgery. The answer will impact whether you can bill a separate encounter or include it in the global package.Post-op infections do not necessarily...

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