tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2005 Issue 12

READER QUESTIONS: Selective Debridement Pay Is Unlikely

Question: Can our in-office nursing staff report 97597-97598 for selective debridement? I-ve heard a lot of conflicting advice on these codes. For instance, I-ve been told that only therapists can bill for the services.Massachusetts Subscriber Answer: The short answer to your question is, yes, under narrow circumstances--and depending on your payer--your nursing staff can report selective debridement using 97597-97598. But, you probably won't get paid.The AMA released 97597 (Removal of devitalized tissue from wound[s], selective debridement, without anesthesia [e.g., high-pressure waterjet with/without suction, sharp selective debridement with scissors, scalpel and forceps], with or without topical application[s]...

To read the full article, sign in and subscribe to tci General Surgery Coding Alert.


Leverage vital, to-the-point monthly guidance to boost your reporting accuracy and your coding know-how. We make it convenient for your team to stay informed, compliant, and profitable with a subscription to TCI’s General Surgery Coding Alert.

  • Current newsletters added each month
  • Fully searchable archives - over 2100 articles
  • ALL years/issues back to 1999 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 General Surgery Coding 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.