Orthopedic Coding: Get Your Foot And Ankle Claims Right

By Author: Angela Martin
Total Articles: 206
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Do not let anatomic terminology trip up your foot and ankle claims. So long as you know the specifics of each condition in this category, you'll code foot and ankle services like an ace. Toe, foot and ankle problems can be caused by wear-and-tear or by sudden injuries like those from jumping during sports. You should know the differences between these diagnoses or you may miss a subtle difference and assign the wrong code.

Coding tip: One thing to remember is that you might need modifiers to help differentiate work on different areas of the feet or toes. These modifiers include LT and RT, TA-T9 and sometimes 59, depending on the service your orthopedist provides. These modifiers become particularly important if the doctor carries out the same procedure on more than one foot or toe.


The following primer can help your foot, ankle and toe diagnosis coding:

1. Bunions vs. Hallux Valgus: They are not the same

2. Differentiate supple and fixed hammer toes

3. Injection rules differ for Morton's Neuroma, TTS

4. ...
... PTTD, Plantar Fasciitis may need surgery

For more details on this, sign up for an audio conference on orthopedic coding. When you sign up for one, you'll know how to code feet and ankles with ease. Onboard such orthopedic coding conferences, you'll get all the tips and tricks of the trade to code right for your orthopedic practice. And in case you missed out on a scheduled conference, you don't have to worry as you can always fall back on CDs and PDF transcripts to run you through the entire event. One more plus point of such conferences is the CEUs that you stand to gain on attending one.