S52.212A (Greenstick fracture of shaft of left ulna, initial encounter for closed fracture)
compared with
S52.212K (Greenstick fracture of shaft of left ulna, subsequent encounter for fracture with nonunion),
from the official CMS tabular data. S52.212A and S52.212K code the same injury at a different phase of treatment.
Greenstick fracture of shaft of left ulna, subsequent encounter for fracture with nonunion
Same underlying diagnosis, different encounter phase.
The 7th character records the phase of care for the encounter being coded, so a single encounter takes one of these characters, not several. Review whether both phases belong on the same episode of care.
Source: ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.C.19.a
Can these codes be reported together?
Same injury, other encounter phase. S52.212A and S52.212K code the same injury at a different phase of treatment, set by the 7th character.
The 7th character records the type of care given at the encounter being coded (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.C.19.a), so one encounter takes one of these, not both.