Mark Manipulation, Make $100+ More Per Encounter
Published on Sun Nov 27, 2011
No maybes here; answer this question wrong and you will code incorrectly. When your ED physician performs fracture care for a patient, be ready to pounce on evidence of manipulation, as CPT often breaks fracture care codes along the manipulation line. The $kinny: Let's say the physician performs closed treatment on a fractured collarbone; if she uses manipulation, the service is worth about $106 more than a nonmanipulation encounter. Use this FAQ to successfully manipulate both types of fracture care codes -- and ethically add to the practice's bottom line. What Is Manipulation? For coding purposes, "manipulation involves reduction or attempted reduction of the fracture or dislocation," explains Gerri Walk, RHIA, CCS-P, senior manager for Baltimore's Health Record Services Corporation. There is "open" manipulation, but your ED physicians will almost always perform "closed" manipulation, which occurs when "the physician is repositioning or relocating a displaced closed fracture back to the correct [...]