tci ED Coding & Reimbursement Alert - 2009 Issue 13

READER QUESTIONS: Ear Wick Won't Warrant Procedure Code

Question: A 25-year-old male patient reports to the ED complaining of right ear pain. The ear is oozing a purulent yellow fluid that has a foul odor. The ED physician diagnoses acute suppurative otitis media and inserts an ear wick soaked in antibiotics into the patient's ear. Is there a code for this procedure? Illinois Subscriber Answer: The only way to capture a physician's effort when inserting an ear wick is an E/M code. So go back and check the notes and choose the appropriate level E/M code -- most likely 99283 (Emergency department visit for the evaluation and...

To read the full article, sign in and subscribe to tci ED Coding & Reimbursement Alert.


You have ED coding questions, and we deliver money-in-the-bank answers to help you defeat your claim issues and secure optimal reimbursement.

Stay in the know and avoid federal reproach with your subscription to TCI’s ED Coding and Reimbursement Alert.

  • Current newsletters added each month
  • Fully searchable archives - over 2100 articles
  • ALL years/issues back to 1998 organized by year and issue
  • Codes mentioned in articles are linked to Code Information pages
  • Code Information pages link back to related articles
Access to this feature is available in the following products:
  • tci ED Coding & Reimbursement Alert +Archives

demo
request yours today
 subscribe
start today
 newsletter
free subscription

Thank you for choosing Find-A-Code, please Sign In to remove ads.