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ED Coding and Reimbursement Alert

READER QUESTIONS :

Flushing Confirms Ear FBR

Published on Fri Jun 12, 2009

Question: A father brings his 2-year-old son into the ED with an injury to his right ear; the boy was scratching at the ear, which appeared swollen and red. The ED physician performs a level-two E/M, during which she visualizes a foreign body (FB) in the external ear. The physician then performs irrigation to flush out the object and ultimately is able to grab it with alligator forceps under magnification (no mention of anesthesia in notes). The FB was a piece of gravel from a fish tank. Can I code the procedure separately, or is it considered part of the E/M? Massachusetts Subscriber Answer: Based on your description, you should be able to report an E/M and a procedure code for this scenario. On the claim, report the following: " 69200 (Removal foreign body from external auditory canal; without general anesthesia) for the FB removal " 99282 (Emergency department visit [...]
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