You would code the aftercare codes for follow up visits while the fracture is healing after the initial treatment. The guidelines state: "Fractures are coded using the aftercare codes for encounters after the patient has completed active treatment of the fracture and is receiving routine care for the fracture during the healing or recovery phase.
Fracture Codes . Assign separate codes for each fracture unless there is a combination code. When multiple fractures or injuries occur at the same time, the provider determines the diagnosis for the most serious fracture/injury and the focus of treatment (sequenced first). Also, assign the appropriate 7. th. character (see below for descriptions).
Treat Spinal Compression Fractures Without Surgery
A T12 or L1 compression fracture most commonly happens as a wedge fracture, which occurs when the front part of the vertebra collapses and the back doesn't, making the bone look like a wedge. Osteoporosis, which causes decreased bone density, is a common risk factor for compression fractures.
Wedge compression fracture of second lumbar vertebra, initial encounter for closed fracture. S32. 020A is a billable/specific ICD-10-CM code that can be used to indicate a diagnosis for reimbursement purposes. The 2022 edition of ICD-10-CM S32.
A compression fracture is a type of broken bone that can cause your vertebrae to collapse, making them shorter. This often happens to the front of the vertebrae but not the back, causing you to stoop forward over time.
In ICD-10-CM, codes for compression and pathologic fractures of the spine (not due to trauma) are located in Chapter 13, Diseases of the Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue. Category M48. 5-, Collapsed vertebra, not elsewhere classifiable is used for vertebrae fracture where no cause is listed.
If you have no other documentation about the fracture (e.g. whether this is a pathological or a traumatic fracture), then this would code to category M48. 5 - Compression fracture of vertebra NOS, so I would use M48. 56XA for the lumbar site.
In a compression fracture, the vertebral body collapses. The most common type of compression fracture is a wedge fracture, in which the front of the vertebral body collapses but the back does not, meaning that the bone assumes a wedge shape.
The spinal cord ends between the first and second lumbar vertebrae (L1-L2). Below this level, the remaining nerves form the cauda equina, a bundle of nerves resembling a horse's tail.
The lumbar spine makes up the the lower end of the spinal column. It consists of 5 lumbar vertebra that are numbered 1 through 5 from top to bottom i.e. L1, L2, L3, L4, and L5. The L5 vertebra is connected to the top of the sacrum (named the S1 segment) through an intervertebral disc.
lumbarLocated just below the L1, the L2 vertebra is the second vertebra in your lumbar, or lower back, region. It's among the largest of the bones in your spinal column, which gets wider as it goes lower.
ICD-10-CM Code for Wedge compression fracture of first lumbar vertebra, initial encounter for closed fracture S32. 010A.
03.
Fracture of lumbar vertebra ICD-10-CM S32. 009A is grouped within Diagnostic Related Group(s) (MS-DRG v39.0):