tci Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement - 2010 Issue 10

Reader Question: Differentiate Between Debridement and Wound Care Management Codes

Active wound therapy requires different documentation than debridement. Question: When the surgeon performs a wound VAC or cleans a wound by scraping with a sharp curette (not excising tissue), is it appropriate to use a debridement code or should we report an active wound care management code from the range 97597"97606?Answer: Physicians typically use the debridement codes (11000"11001, Debridement of extensive eczematous or infected skin; ... or 11004"11005, Debridement of skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscle and fascia for necrotizing soft tissue infection; ...) for debridement by any method. Without question these codes most closely describe wound debridement by sharp curettement...

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