MDS Alert

Are you familiar with the distinctions necessary to code surgical wounds appropriately? Surveyors will be on the lookout for how facilities provide wound care, so make sure you know this information. Find the answers and accompanying rationale on page 12.

1) True or False: Post-operative care following eye surgery or oral surgery qualifies as surgical wound care.

2) A resident requires surgical intervention to treat his pressure ulcer to remove the infected and necrotic tissue. According to the surgeon's notes, the surgeon excised the ulcer and then used a flap and a graft to close the pressure ulcer. In which MDS item would you code the post-operative care the patient requires?

A) M1200E (Pressure Ulcer Care)
B) M1200F (Surgical Wound Care)

3) True or False: Once a pressure ulcer is excised and closed with a flap and/or graft, it is no longer a pressure ulcer but a surgical wound.

4) Which of the following aspects of care qualify as surgical wound care?

A) Topical cleansing
B) Wound irrigation
C) Application of antimicrobial ointments
D) Application of dressings of any type
E) Suture/staple removal
F) Warm soaks or heat application
G) All of the above.