ED Coding and Reimbursement Alert
Don't Confuse Open Fracture With Open Treatment
Question: What constitutes an open fracture, and what does its care include? Answer: An open fracture is one in which the skin is broken in addition to the bone, and there is an open wound down to the fracture site. For such a fracture to the scapula, for example, you'd report 811.1x (Open fracture, scapula). - Reader Questions and You Be The Coder were reviewed by Mike Granovsky, MD, CPC, FACEP, chief financial officer of Greater Washington Emergency Physicians in Fort Washington, Md.
Alabama Subscriber
Many coders confuse this term with open treatment of a fracture, in which the physician makes a surgical incision to treat the fracture. As CPT states in its introduction to the musculoskeletal surgery section, the incision can be directly over the fracture or in a remote location that allows the physician to place a nail across the fracture.
But the treatment of an open fracture may be open or closed. Closed treatment can include casting, strapping, splinting, or just buddy taping. For these treatments, you'll report codes from the 29000-29590 series (Application of casts and strapping).
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Don't Confuse Open Fracture With Open Treatment
Question: What constitutes an open fracture, and what does its care include?
Alabama Subscriber Answer: An [...]
