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Reader Questions: Here’s the Breakdown on Open and Closed Fracture

Question: What is the difference between an open and closed fracture treatment?

California Subscriber

Answer: You’ll need to know the difference between the two because your CPT code choice is based on whether the physician performed open or closed repair.

Closed definition: When the physician performs closed fracture treatment, this means she did not have to surgically open the fracture site to repair the break. So if the operative report indicates that the physician performed closed treatment of a patient’s broken rib, you’d report 21800 (Closed treatment of rib fracture, uncomplicated, each) for the repair.

Open definition: When the physician performs open fracture treatment, she either surgically opens the fracture site and performs internal fixation or exposes the fracture site remotely and inserts an intermedullary nail. Due to the equipment needed for the procedure and the high risk of infection, however, surgeons typically address open fractures in the operating room, not the ED.

So if the surgeon performs an open repair on a patient’s sternum, you’d report 21825 (Open treatment of sternum fracture with or without skeletal fixation) for the repair.

Modifier 54 alert: Nearly all ED fracture care claims include modifier 54 (Surgical care only) because the ED physician only treats the fracture but doesn’t provide any follow-up care. CPT indicates that you must append modifier 54 to your fracture care claims unless the ED physician performs all of the follow-up services during the global period, which is typically 90 days.

- Published on 2007-05-24

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