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General Surgery Coding Alert

Reader questions:

Make 948 Your Burn Coding Constant

Published on Wed Mar 10, 2010

Question: Our general surgeon treats burn victims, and I'm wondering about diagnosis coding in these cases. Do I need to include a code from category 948 on every claim? Michigan Subscriber Answer: Yes. Once you locate code(s) to represent the patient's burn(s), find the appropriate code from category 948 (Burns classified according to event of body surface involved) as a secondary diagnosis. The 948.xx codes can also serve as primary diagnoses when the documentation doesn't specify the burn site, according to ICD-9 2010. Reason: This code helps paint a better picture of the patient's injuries: The fourth digit in the 948.xx code  represents the total body surface area (TBSA) burned, and the last digit indicates how much of the TBSA suffered third-degree burns. You'll employ the "Rule of Nines" to select the fourth and fifth digits. The Rule matches percentages and body areas as follows: head and neck, the right [...]
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