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Emergency Department Coding:

Look to Repair Length for Accurate Code Choice

Published on Wed Apr 08, 2026

Question: Encounter notes indicate that the emergency department (ED) triage reported that a patient had a “R hand laceration, approx 2.5 cm.” When reviewing the ED physician’s notes, however, I added up at least 3.5 cm of intermediate repair length. Which length should I base my CPT® code choice on? Revenue Cycle Insider Subscriber Answer: Code choice is based on [...]
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