ED Coding and Reimbursement Alert

Question: A patient reports to the ED bleeding moderately from the scalp. The patient is using a towel to apply pressure to the wound, which he suffered after a noncollision crash on his dirt bike. The nonphysician practitioner (NPP) examines the patient, ligates a small number of blood vessels, and notices a small amount of dirt in the wound, which she irrigates using saline solution. The physician orders local anesthesia and closes a 3.4 cm scalp wound using surgical staples. The physician then instructs the patient to follow up with his primary care physician (PCP) for further treatment. Is this an intermediate or simple repair? Illinois Subscriber Answer: This is a simple laceration repair. On the claim, you would report the following: 12002 (Simple repair of superficial wounds of scalp, neck,axillae, external genitalia, trunk and/or extremities [including hands and feet]; 2.6 cm to 7.5 cm) for the scalp repair the [...]