You only code the V code for healing fracture once the fracture has been treated. This is well covered in several coding clinics, that state once the fracture has been actively treated you no longer code the acute fracture code, you use the V code for healing fracture. The acute fracture codes should never be used for follow up encounters as they indicate a new fracture that has not been treated. These are patient diagnosis, therefore the codes we select must match the patient condition for that specific encounter. If you continue to use acute fx codes after it has been treated, then the patient will have a greater risk associated to them by the payer and can raise their premiums as a result. You must always be correct in the assignment of the dx code as it fits the patient for the encounter. So it will be a V code for healing fx , or a V code for healed fx, or a complication code after the fx has been treated, it will never be that acute fx code again until the patient fractures that bone in a separate incident.
Debra A. Mitchell, MSPH, CPC-H
Fracture help
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