Know When to Append Modifier 50 on Bilateral CTS Shots

Your orthopedist injects both of a patient’s wrists to treat carpal tunnel syndrome. Should you just file 20526 with modifier 50 appended and forget about it? Not so fast: If the physician injects both the patient’s wrists to treat CTS, you will ty...

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Hip Injection With Fluoro — Is Coding Both Allowed?

You have two options depending on how the physician performed the procedure.

Question: Our orthopedist administered a hip injection under fluoroscopy. Can I report both codes?

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Answer: You can code both the injection and fluoroscopy, but the correct choices depend on how your physician completed the procedure.

Option 1: If your orthopedist injected radiopaque dye and performed the arthrography concurrently, code the procedure with 27093 (Injection procedure for hip arthrography; without anesthesia).

Option 2: If he completed the guidance and injection as separate procedures, submit 20610 (Arthrocentesis, aspiration, and/or injection; major joint or bursa [e.g., shoulder, hip, knee joint, subacromial bursa]) for the injection. Include 77002 (Fluoroscopic guidance for needle placement [e.g., biopsy, aspiration, injection, localization device]) for the fluoroscopic guidance.

Remember to append modifier 26 (Professional component) to 77002 because your physician performed the service but doesn’t own the fluoroscopy equipment.

SI change: If the physician injects the sacroiliac joint instead of the hip joint, choose either 20610 (Arthrocentesis, aspiration, and/or injection; major joint or bursa [e.g., shoulder, hip, knee joint, subacromial bursa]) or 27096 (Injection procedure for sacroiliac joint, arthrography and/or anesthetic/steroid).

Orthopedic Coding Alert. Editor: Leigh DeLozier, CPC

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Check for Fracture Diagnosis Before Coding Repair

Don’t code a closed fracture treatment code without more information.

Question: Our orthopedist saw a patient in the emergency department for a gunshot wound and diagnosed a metacarpal fracture. He irrigated the site and removed a foreign body. Can we...

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E/M Coding: Use Current Diagnosis to Support E/M Visit

Don’t forget to include the code for the arthrocentesis.

Question: A new patient sees the orthopedist because of shoulder problems. The physician schedules an MRI and the patient returns the following week to discuss the findings. The physician had already

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Stay in the Game With the Correct Ligament Repair, Reconstruction Codes

Remember ligament repair abbreviations to simplify elbow ligament surgeries.

Baseball players are gearing up for the season, which means your orthopedist could see a sudden increase in elbow ligament injuries. If conservative therapies fail to help torn medial (841.1) or…

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