Global period of incision drainage - Procedure 10060,10140 and covered DX

Global Period

“Global period” is defined as the period of time when services must be included in the surgical allowance. Insurance uses the number of days indicated in the “Global Period” column of the Federal Register as the standard.

Insurance considers the following services to be included in the global surgical package. These services are not separately reimbursable when billed by the same physician or by another physician within the same Provider Group (same Tax ID number).


Services include:

• Pre-operative E&M services after the decision to perform surgery is made, one day prior to major surgery, and on the same day a major or minor surgery is performed;

• Intra-operative services that are a usual and necessary part of the surgical procedure;

• Anesthesia provided by the surgeon (including local infiltration, digital block or topical anesthesia);

• Supplies;

• Normal, uncomplicated follow-up care for the period indicated in the Federal Register Global Period; and

• All additional medical or surgical post-operative services required of the surgeon during the postoperative period due to complications that do not require additional trips to the operating room.

Insurance considers the following services to be not included in the global surgical package:

• Pre-operative services not encompassed in the global period;


• Evaluation and management services unrelated to the primary procedure;

• Services required to stabilize the patient for the primary procedure;

• Procedures required during the immediate preoperative period that are usually not part of the basic surgical procedure (for example, bronchoscopy prior to chest surgery); and


• Treatment by the original physician for a related postoperative complication that requires a return trip to the operating room.

Incision and Drainage Global Period “10” Days

10060 I&D of abscess
10061 I&D multiple or complicated
10120 Removal of foreign body, subQ
10121 Removal of foreign body complicated
10140 I&D of hematoma
10160 Puncture aspiration of abscess, hematoma, bulla or cyst

• Should have anesthesia, culture if medically appropriate and F/U.

• Common diagnoses
–681.11 paronychia/onychia
–681.10 cellulitis/abscess toe
–682.6 cellulitis/abscess, ankle
–682.7 cellulitis/abscess, foot
–924.20 contusion, foot
–924.21 contusion, ankle
–924.3 contusion, toe