May 17, 2024

Today I have a question regarding radiology reads from our providers. Often, I get Age indeterminate when it comes to fractures, especially spines. I have reached out to our department chief about this matter. However, from a registry standpoint what is our best practice? I usually @ the injury and of course it will not code. Most of these patients are transferred to a higher level of care. Would these patients fall into the PTOS category? I currently have a case where abrasions and contusions are also listed as injuries (they don’t count). I get this frequently and would like to make sure that I do this correctly every time. So that is why I am reaching out to you for a definitive answer.

For the specific injuries noted age indeterminate, you are correct, you do not code. However, your patient may meet PTOS. If you are transferring and have not ruled out traumatic injury, they would qualify. So a patient with a mechanism, the abrasions, etc., and sending out, unless your providers are saying there is no injury, they could meet PTOS.

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