Orthopedic Coding Alert
Reader Question:
Coding for Repeated Visits
Published on Thu Jun 27, 2013
Question: Office treatment of diabetic foot ulcerations required repeated (staged) debridement of hypertrophic skin, sometimes subcutaneous tissue, and serial casting can take two to three weeks to heal. How should the repeated visits be coded to ensure proper payment? Four to eight visits/casts/debridement are sometimes needed.
Answer: If debridements have zero-day global, no modifiers are necessary. If they have a 10-day global, and more debridements are necessary during that time, append modifier -58 (staged procedures), to the subsequent services.
Roy J. Guse, MD Texas Specialist Center
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