Here is a section from the Medicare site. I am not sure what locality you are in so this information may not apply to your situation. There is a website they reference at the bottom.
Procedure codes 11000-11001 and 11040-11044 should be used for debridement of relatively localized areas depending upon the involvement of contiguous underlying structures. These codes are appropriate for treatment of skin ulcers, circumscribed dermal infections, conditions affecting contiguous deeper structures, and debridement of deep-seated debris from any number of injury types.
Recently, the Medical Review department at HGSAdministrators reviewed claims that were suspended for further review for surgical debridement of wounds, procedure codes 11000-11001 and 11040-11044. The majority of issues identified during the reviews related to the lack of an appropriate diagnosis reported to support the medical necessity of the services. However, after reviewing the requested documentation, it was found that the medical record did contain the information to support an ICD-9 code that verified the medical necessity of the services billed, and the claims were allowed. If the appropriate diagnosis had been initially reported on the claim, the claim may not have been suspended for the development of records and may have been paid in a timely manner.
Just as a reminder, please note that surgical debridement codes 11000 11011 and 11040-11044 should not be reported when the service rendered is for removal of benign hyperkeratotic lesions (e.g., corns or callus). The removal of hyperkeratotic tissue (corn or callus) should be reported with procedure codes 11055-11057, as appropriate.
For additional information regarding the ICD-9 codes that support medical necessity, the documentation requirements, and the indications and limitation of coverage and/or medical necessity, please refer to Local Coverage Determination, S-144, “Wound Care”, located on our website at
www.hgsa.com.
Here's the site I got it off of:
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/mcd/viewarticle.asp?article_id=37813&article_version=2&show=all
As far as knowing what the percentage of body surface is, there is a picture in the CPT book by the burn care. This would apply to figure out percentage of body area.
Hopefully this helps!
