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ED Coding and Reimbursement Alert

Reader Question:

Up I&D Level When Packing Gets 'Extensive'

Published on Wed Jun 22, 2011

Question: A patient presents to the ED with a swollen growth on her left thigh; she reports that it has increased in size over the past week and is "leaking pus." During the examination, the patient says that the growth has been present for "about two months" and she rates the pain as 7 on a scale of 10. After a level three ED E/M service, the ED physician decides to perform incision and drainage (I&D) on the wound. Initial attempts to drain the wound with a scalpel prove unsuccessful, so the physician makes several tiny incisions at strategic spots on the wound to facilitate drainage. After letting the wound drain for 10 minutes, the physician installs a drain to remove the remaining pus. He then packs the wound to minimize the bleeding. The ED E/M takes 15 minutes, and the I&D takes 27 minutes. Can I code 10061 for [...]
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