Primary Care Coding Alert

Here's how to ID nosebleed repairs that only amount to E/Ms. When a patient reports to the FP for anterior nosebleed treatment, the coder chooses an E/M code, a procedure code ... or both. The code, or codes, you choose for each nosebleed repair depends on encounter  specifics. Check out these nosebleed fix case studies, which explain the three most likely coding scenarios FP practices will see. Case 1: E/M Code Only If a patient reports to the physician with a nosebleed and the physician stops the bleeding with standard methods, you should choose an E/M code for the entire encounter, confirms Jeffrey Linzer Sr., MD, FAAP, FACEP, Associate Medical Director for Compliance, Emergency Pediatric Group, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston. This means you have to be on guard for nosebleed treatments that don't qualify as nosebleed repairs, for coding purposes. Standard nosebleed-stoppage methods include ice, pressure, or gauze. [...]