Coding
Global period
The window after a procedure during which related follow-up care is included in the original payment and not separately billable.
What it means in dermatology
Dermatology procedures carry 0-day, 10-day and 90-day globals. Most excisions and repairs carry 10 days; some flaps and grafts carry 90. Suture removal and routine wound checks inside the window are not separately payable.
Care that is genuinely unrelated inside the window can still be billed with the appropriate modifier — 24 for an unrelated E/M, 79 for an unrelated procedure — but the documentation has to establish that it was unrelated.
Why it matters to your revenue
Global-period denials are among the highest-volume, lowest-value denials in dermatology, and nearly all of them are preventable at charge entry.
See this term in your own numbers
A free claims audit reviews a de-identified sample of your dermatology claims and returns a line-item findings report — including where terms like this one are costing you money.
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