Orthopedic Coding Alert

Some extra services mean more codes -- but many don't. Don't be too hasty when reporting additional procedures your orthopedist completes during ACL surgery. The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) Global Service Data (GSD) book considers many intraoperative services to be part of the global ACL package. Here are some companion services you'll see most often but can't report separately, with example codes in parentheses: • minor synovial resection for visualization (29875) • partial synovectomy and fat pad resection (29875, 29976) • intra-articular ligament reconstruction (27428, 27558) • diagnostic knee arthroscopy (29870) • arthroscopic lysis of adhesions (29884) • knee manipulation (27570). Harvest hint: Payers include graft harvest and insertion in 29888, whether the graft is a patellar tendon or a hamstring tendon. "The use of an allograft and the autograft harvest from the same body area are included in the reimbursement calculations for 29888," says Kristi Stumpf, MCS-P, CPC, [...]