Orthopedic Coding Alert
Treatment During the Global Period
Ramona Marden
Penobscot Bay Orthopaedic Associates, Rockport, Maine
Answer: Susan Callaway-Stradley, CPC, CCS-P, an independent coding expert and educator in North Augusta, S.C., says, Depending on the procedure performed, you might consider the debridement codes, 11040-11044, 10180 (incision and drainage, complex, postoperative wound infection) or 12020-12021 (treatment of superficial wound dehiscence).
If you are using these codes, add a modifier -78 to indicate a return to the operating room. Modifier -78 (return to the operating room for a related procedure during the postoperative period) indicates the physician is taking the patient back to the OR during the global period to treat a complication from the original procedure.
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