Pediatric Coding Alert

Your 'incision' interpretation could be unnecessarily limiting your 10120s. If your removal repertoire stops at 10120 (Incision and removal of foreign body, subcutaneous tissues; simple), rope in additional deserved pay with site-specific foreign body removal (FBR) codes. Commonly performed foreign body removal codes can add approximately $115-$216* to a claim. You might, however, question what counts as incision and removal under 10120 and not realize that other anatomic area codes exist. Test your coding expertise with these questions. *Note: Figures based on the 2009 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule that pediatricians can use as a benchmark for payers. For values tied to specific codes, see chart below. Look for Skin Involvement to Support 10120 Question 1: A pediatrician removes an earring back from the earlobe using probing tweezers rather than a scalpel. Should she still report 10120? Answer 1: Yes, the technique still fits the code's description. "Ascalpel isn't the only [...]