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tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2002 Issue 8

Reader Question: Postsurgical Complications

Question: Our surgeon preformed a cholecystectomy (47600) on a Medicare patient. A week later the patient returned to the office with an infected incision that required debridement. The debridement was performed in the office. Should we charge for this service using modifiers -58 or -78?Maine Subscriber Answer: No, you should not charge for postsurgical debridement in the office for Medicare patients. The infection is a consequence of the surgery and therefore cannot be classified as an unrelated, separately billable procedure. Medicare guidelines specify that normal postoperative care and complications are included as part of the global period for...

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