ED Coding and Reimbursement Alert

Coders should be ready for higher-level services just in case.ED physicians' debridement services are typically skin deep.There is always a chance, however, that they'll have to perform a more involved debridement. "Deeper debridements are often performed in the OR but might be performed in the ED, especially if the patient has wounds in locations where there is not much tissue overlying the muscle or bone," relays Marcella Bucknam, CPC, CCS-P, CPC-H, CCS, CPC-P, COBGC, CCC, manager of compliance education for the University of Washington Physicians and Children's University Medical Group Compliance Program.When deeper debridements occur, proper coding could net your ED several hundred dollars per encounter.The three highest-level debridement codes in CPT are:11042 (Debridement; skin and subcutaneous tissue)11043 (... skin, subcutaneous tissue, and muscle)11044 (... skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscle and bone).ED physicians might be more likely to perform these procedures if they are working in an understaffed hospital. They'd also [...]