Wiki Podiatry General Billing

[JDunleavey1031]

Hi,

I'm new to podiatry coding/billing, and I just have a general question about nail debridements and trimming. My physician bills codes 11720 and 11719 together frequently. She documents correctly; she debrides and then trims the nails. Could I bill these two codes together with a modifier 51 on the trimming? I don't think a modifier 59 will work, but I could be wrong.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[PLAIDMAN]

Hi,

I'm new to podiatry coding/billing, and I just have a general question about nail debridements and trimming. My physician bills codes 11720 and 11719 together frequently. She documents correctly; she debrides and then trims the nails. Could I bill these two codes together with a modifier 51 on the trimming? I don't think a modifier 59 will work, but I could be wrong.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

I would be really surprised if she is getting paid for this....according NCCI edits these codes are mutually exclusive to each other and should not be billed together. The 11720-11721 includes "nails are shortened and shaped"

 

[werner03]

yes you can bill those 2 together and the modifier goes on the 11719. We bill for both 11720 & 11719 all the time.

Katie