Home | Podiatry Billing
Podiatry Billing: Routine Foot Care, Surgery and Diabetic Shoes Paid Right
Class Findings, Q Modifiers and Foot Surgery
Podiatry billing has rules you will not find in most specialties. Routine foot care is only covered for certain patients, Medicare requires class findings and Q modifiers, and diabetic shoes come with their own paperwork. Billing Care Assistant handles podiatry billing so nail care, wound care and surgery are all paid correctly.
Common Podiatry Billing Problems We Fix
| Billing problem | Why it costs you | How we fix it |
|---|---|---|
| Routine foot care denied | Medicare covers nail and callus care only with a qualifying systemic condition | We check diagnoses and class findings and add Q7, Q8 or Q9 when they apply |
| Missing treating physician details | Some routine foot care claims need the name and last visit date of the physician managing the systemic condition | We collect the required details at intake |
| Diabetic shoe paperwork incomplete | Therapeutic shoes need a certifying physician statement and supplier records | We check the paperwork before shoes and inserts are billed |
| Visit and procedure on the same day | Visits with nail care or injections need modifier 25 when they are separate | We code visits and procedures from the note with correct modifiers |
| Foot surgery global periods | Bunion and hammertoe surgery have 90-day global periods | We track global periods and bill only separately payable follow-up care |
Podiatry Codes We Handle
Clinic and surgical care
We code nail debridement (11720-11721), corn and callus paring (11055-11057), nail removal and matrixectomy (11730, 11750), injections, wound debridement, orthotics and diabetic shoes (A5500 and related insert codes), bunion, hammertoe and other foot and ankle surgery, and office visits with the right modifiers and global periods.
How We Keep Podiatry Claims Clean
The details that get you paid
We review systemic conditions and class findings for each routine foot care visit, check that diagnosis codes support every service, and scrub claims before they go out. Our denial management team works every denial, and our credentialing services cover payer and DME supplier enrollment.
Payer Rules Podiatrists Should Watch
Coverage depends on the patient
Medicare covers routine foot care only for patients with conditions such as diabetes with nerve damage or poor circulation, and contractors generally allow it no more often than once every 61 days. Therapeutic shoes for diabetics need a certifying statement from the physician managing the diabetes. Commercial and Medicare Advantage plans may set their own limits. We track these rules for every patient.
Why Podiatry Practices Choose Billing Care Assistant
Billers who know the rules
You get billers who understand class findings and Q modifiers, steady follow-up on every claim, and monthly reports by service and payer. Want to see where your practice is losing revenue? Start with a free medical billing audit, or see all the specialties we bill for.
Podiatry Billing FAQs
When is routine foot care covered by Medicare?
Only when the patient has a systemic condition, such as diabetes with nerve damage or peripheral vascular disease, and the exam shows the required class findings. Care is generally limited to once every 61 days.
What are the Q7, Q8 and Q9 modifiers?
They report the class findings that support routine foot care: Q7 for one Class A finding, Q8 for two Class B findings, and Q9 for one Class B and two Class C findings.
What is needed to bill diabetic shoes?
A certifying statement from the physician managing the patient’s diabetes, a prescription, documentation of a qualifying foot condition, and fitting records. The practice also needs to be enrolled as a DME supplier.
Do you bill foot and ankle surgery?
Yes. We code bunion, hammertoe, ankle and other surgeries from the operative report and track 10- and 90-day global periods so follow-up care is billed correctly.
Not Sure Where Your Revenue Is Leaking?
Get a free, no-obligation medical billing audit. We review your claims, denials and A/R, then show you what to fix first.
