Patient post-op pain? If it’s really unrelated to surgery, use modifier 24

Article Overview

This coding article addresses postoperative E/M reporting in the context of a new complaint arising after surgery. It is aimed at coders, billers, and clinical documentation staff who need to understand how modifier 24 is discussed in relation to the global surgical period, CMS guidance, CPT manual language, and private payer variation. The article focuses on the kind of documentation and clinical context that may support distinguishing a truly unrelated postoperative problem from a procedure-related concern.