Know Your Compartments Well To Make Headway In Arthroscopy Coding

By Author: Celena
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Coding knee surgery: The knee joint is the largest joint in the human body. Anatomists and orthopedists usually describe it as having three compartments - the medial compartment, the lateral compartment and the patello-femoral compartment.


The knee includes another anatomic region, termed the intra-articular notch. This is the open posterior area of the femur between the medial and lateral femoral condyles. It is often operated upon because it contains the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), but it is really not considered a compartment for coding purposes.


Knee arthroscopy is a surgical technique whereby the surgeon inserts a tube-like instrument into a joint to inspect, diagnose and repair tissues. But you should know your compartments to select arthroscopy codes. The compartments are important for coding because NCCI bundles procedures that surgeons perform in the same compartment. For example, if the physician performs a medial meniscectomy and a concurrent synovectomy on the medial ...
... side of the knee, you may charge only one code because both structures are in the same compartment.


Documentation is the key to reimbursement Thorough documentation is critical in either case to prove fully that the surgeon performed the procedures in different compartments.

Tip: A great way to ensure the maximum reimbursement is to have the surgeon dictate notes using separate paragraphs for each compartment, with a header on each paragraph, and placing the code at the end of each paragraph.


Get more of such tips on arthroscopy coding by attending the Coding and Reimbursement Conference in Orlando, FL which will help review procedure dilemmas you may encounter, new techniques being used today, and hints and tricks to knee surgery coding you were not aware of.


Gain knowledge about medical coding and attend medical conferences with premier coding experts, CDs, tapes and transcripts of coding training information by specialty.