S56.929A (Laceration of unspecified muscles, fascia and tendons at forearm level, unspecified arm, initial encounter)
compared with
S56.929S (Laceration of unspecified muscles, fascia and tendons at forearm level, unspecified arm, sequela),
from the official CMS tabular data. S56.929A and S56.929S code the same injury at a different phase of treatment.
Laceration of unspecified muscles, fascia and tendons at forearm level, unspecified arm, sequela
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. S56.929A and S56.929S 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.
S00-T88 — Injury, Poisoning and Certain Other Consequences of External Causes (S00-T88)
S00-T88 — Injury, Poisoning and Certain Other Consequences of External Causes (S00-T88)
Definition
Laceration of unspecified muscles, fascia and tendons at forearm level, unspecified arm, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S56.929A).
Laceration of unspecified muscles, fascia and tendons at forearm level, unspecified arm, sequela is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S56.929S).
7th character
The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S56
The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S56