Orthopedic Coding Alert

Repetition of a procedure or service may not always mean additional payment You will often be faced with situations when modifiers are the most accurate way to describe the radiological diagnosis of fractures in the upper limbs. Learning the correct use of modifiers -26, -50, -59, -76, and -77 will help to make sure you are not missing the payment for these when you are obtaining an X-ray to confirm a fracture of the upper limb or its treatment. Bilateral X-rays May Not Mean Double Payment You will commonly be faced with a situation where Xrays were requested for both limbs. This is usually done to compare the anatomy. Alternatively, in the case of trauma, say in a road traffic accident, bilateral X-rays may be used to rule out multiple injuries. You may append modifier RT (Right side) and LT (Left side) to the code for the X-ray if the procedure [...]