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ED Coding and Reimbursement Alert

READER QUESTIONS:

Report ICD-9 Only for Transferred Patient

Published on Mon Aug 23, 2004

Question: A patient presented to the emergency department with injuries from a motorcycle accident. The ED physicians transferred the patient to another facility so the patient's lower leg could be amputated. The doctor's clinical impression stated, "Near LLE amputation below knee, multiple trauma." Should I report "amputation below knee"?

Iowa Subscriber Answer: Because your physician did not perform the procedure herself, you should not report the CPT code for a below-the-knee amputation. However, for the diagnosis code, you should consider using the appropriate leg injury code - possibly one from the 820-829 series (Fracture of lower limb).
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