Cellulitis and abscess of finger and toe (681)

Medicaid fraud-plus-wage fraud seen in more than one case. State authorities are putting more focus than ever on home care fraud, recent cases show. For example: In Georgia, the “Medicaid Fraud Division has obtained civil recoveries totaling more than $68 [...]

The 2021 final rule is a mixed bag, say experts. In Primary Care Coding Alert v22n10, we highlighted various proposals the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) were considering implementing in the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) for 2021. In [...]

Plus: Senators want HHS to clear up confusion over medical identity theft and HIPAA. Yet another judge ruled that a healthcare entity is not liable for an employee’s HIPAA violation when those actions were outside the scope of the staffer’s [...]

Question: Our physician reviewed a 56-year-old male patient with complaints of pain and swelling in the area of the second toe on the left leg. He documented that the pain started about two days ago, and the patient didn’t remember any [...]

Make use of available opportunities to report an additional E/M. When your clinician performs an incision and drainage (I&D) of a cyst or abscess, you should be aware of identifying a complicated drainage procedure from a simple I&D. You should [...]

Question: A patient with a plan of care in place for her type II diabetes reports to the ED complaining of a painful left index finger. She says the digit has been red and swollen for the past three days, and [...]

Question: Our elderly patient has a cat bite infected with cellulitis on her left big toe. We will be providing wound care and antibiotics via PICC line. How should we code for her? Ohio Subscriber Answer: Code for this patient as follows: [...]

Question: Our elderly patient has a cat bite infected with cellulitis on her left big toe. We will be providing wound care and antibiotics via PICC line. How should we code for her? Ohio Subscriber Answer: Code for this patient as follows: [...]

Question: A patient came in because he had an abscess on his finger (no other problems). The pediatrician drained and treated the abscess and billed both 10060 and 99214, and the insurer paid for both. Is this correct? His documentation [...]

Question:Our physician treated a soft-tissue infection on a patient's finger. Which diagnosis code should we report for this?Maine SubscriberAnswer: The correct choice depends on the type of infection -- and ICD-9 includes a number of specific options. If the physician described [...]