Surgical debridement code denials improve — but they’re still awful

Article Overview

This article examines denial patterns associated with surgical debridement billing in Medicare claims data and explains why these claims continue to be difficult for providers. It is relevant to coders, billing staff, compliance teams, and practices that report wound care or surgical debridement services. The article also notes when alternative procedure coding may be considered and highlights broad issues around documentation, code pairing, and code-volume differences over time.