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Answer: For claims with dates of service before Jan. 1, 2001, use the debridement codes (11000-11044) because these codes do not specify the method of debridement used; or alternatively, for more minor debridement, such as debridement without anesthesia during wound care, you should use G0169 (removal of devitalized tissue, without use of anesthesia [conscious sedation, local, regional, general]), which was introduced in HCPCS 2000.
For active wound care management for claims with dates of service on or after Jan. 1, 2001, you can use the new CPT codes 97601 (removal of devitalized tissue from wound; selective debridement, without anesthesia, including topical application[s], wound assessment, and instruction[s] for ongoing care, per session) and 97602 (non-selective debridement, without anesthesia, per session). See CPT 2001 Codes Contain Changes for Therapeutic Procedures on page 89 for more information about these new codes.
Advice for You Be the Coder was provided by Cynthia Thompson, CPC, senior consultant with Gates, Moore & Co, a healthcare consulting firm in Atlanta.
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