Practice Management
A 51-year-old male presents to urgent care after falling while skiing. He reports catching an edge in a patch of slushy snow, causing him to pitch forward and land forcefully onto his left anterior chest. He immediately experienced localized pain over the left chest, worsened by deep inspiration and coughing. He denies shortness of breath, syncope, and neck or head trauma. On exam, vital signs are normal. There is focal tenderness over the left anterior …
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Urgent Message: Rib fractures most commonly occur after blunt chest injury. Consider serious associated injuries such as pneumothorax, hemothorax, and pulmonary contusion when assessing patients with suspected rib fractures. Ensuring appropriate analgesia is critical for reducing the risk of complications. Dustin M. Nelson, BS; Shering Torres, MAS, MD; Michael Weinstock, MD Citation: Nelson DM, Torres S, Weinstock M. Urgent Care Considerations for the Patient with Suspected Rib Fracture. J Urgent Care Med. 2025; 19(4): 13-21 …
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A 75-year-old woman presents to urgent care following a fall in her home that day. An adult daughter explains that her mother has pain on her left side around her ribs. View the image taken and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the following page.
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Q. What code do we use now to bill for closed treatment of a rib fracture? A. In 2015, Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) deleted codes 21800, “Closed treatment of rib fracture, uncomplicated, each,” and 21810, “Treatment of rib fracture requiring external fixation (flail chest),” because of lack of use. You are now to report closed treatment of an uncomplicated rib fracture using an appropriate evaluation and management (E/M) code. Q. We perform many joint injections …
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