Pediatric Coding Alert

Question: Does the physician fee schedule assign global periods to the application of splint codes? A patient presented on May 5 with arm pain. We assigned an application of splint charge. The patient then came back on May 6 to have the splint reapplied following an MRI at an outside facility. Should the visit on May 6 be coded as: • an E/M • another application of splint charge • a no-charge visit due to being a part of the global (if there is one) fee of the initial splint application done on 5/5? Colorado Subscriber Answer: The splint application codes have zero global days, according to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, which private payers may adopt. For the second splint application, you can code another application, such as 29125 (Application of short arm splint [forearm to hand]; static) for applying a forearm splint. Don't forget: On the original splint [...]