ED Coding and Reimbursement Alert

Reader Question:

Compression Fractures Aren't Differentiated by ICD-10

Question: We saw a patient with a compression fracture of the foot bone. We haven’t been able to find the right diagnosis code for this. What do you recommend?

Iowa Subscriber

Answer: ICD-10 does not offer a specific code for a compression fracture, so you should look for details in the medical documentation and determine whether the fracture was open or closed, or displaced or nondisplaced, then you would choose the code that best describes the fracture pertaining to the particular bone.

For instance, if you treated a closed, nondisplaced fracture of the first metatarsal bone on the left foot, you might report S92.315A (Nondisplaced fracture of first metatarsal bone, left foot, initial encounter for closed fracture).