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Podiatry Coding & Billing Alert

Application of Casts and Strapping:

29000-29799: Adjust Your Splint/Strap Coding Depending on Purpose

Published on Sat Jan 01, 2011

Which procedure binds together? Which one functions as support?When you come face to face with a need to report a splinting or strapping service, where do you look to for clues? Podiatrists often select splints and strapping depending on the patient's need and social/cultural environment. This service is often used in conjunction with therapeutic exercise, functional training and other interventions.Nevertheless, billing a splinting or strapping procedure can be frustrating if you don't know how to distinguish between the two. Learn your way around splinting/strapping coding by reviewing this particular scenario:A 60-year-old new female patient presents after falling off a five-step ladder. After a level-two E/M service and some radiology exams, the podiatrist diagnoses the patient as having closed fracture of the astragalus on the left foot. The physician treats the swelling by applying a plaster-molded splint to immobilize and protect the fracture. Then, she refers the patient to an orthopedic [...]
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