Summary & Overview
CPT 23545: Closed Treatment of Acromioclavicular Joint Dislocation
CPT code 23545 denotes the closed treatment of an acromioclavicular (AC) joint dislocation performed by manipulation or adjustment without open surgery. Nationally, this code captures a common nonoperative intervention for shoulder girdle injuries seen in emergency, urgent care, and outpatient procedural settings. Proper coding for closed reduction of an AC joint matters for clinical documentation, encounter classification, and consistent claims processing across payers.
Key payers in typical analyses include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a clinical context for when the code applies, expected sites of service, and common billing modifiers and claim considerations summarized elsewhere in the publication. The content outlines benchmarks and payer coverage patterns where available, highlights documentation elements that support use of the code, and reviews recent policy updates that affect coding and reimbursement practices.
This summary equips clinicians, coders, and billing professionals with a concise reference to the clinical scenario CPT code 23545 represents, the payer landscape commonly involved, and the types of operational and policy topics addressed in the full publication.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 23545 describes a closed treatment of an acromioclavicular joint dislocation. The procedure involves manipulation or adjustment of the separated acromioclavicular joint without open surgical exposure. This is a nonoperative, manual reduction procedure intended to restore joint alignment.
Service type: Closed reduction / nonoperative musculoskeletal procedure
Typical site of service: Emergency department, urgent care, or outpatient surgical/procedural area
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A 28-year-old male presents to the emergency department after a fall onto his shoulder during a basketball game. He reports immediate shoulder pain, visible prominence over the distal clavicle, and limited shoulder movement. Physical exam demonstrates tenderness at the acromioclavicular (AC) joint and deformity consistent with AC joint separation. Radiographs confirm an AC joint dislocation without open wound or associated neurovascular compromise. The orthopedic clinician performs a closed treatment of the AC joint dislocation (CPT 23545) in the ED using local or regional anesthesia and manual manipulation to reduce the separation, then immobilizes the shoulder in a sling or figure-of-eight brace. Post-reduction radiographs are obtained to document alignment. The typical workflow includes initial assessment and imaging, informed consent, analgesia/nerve block, closed reduction maneuver, post-reduction imaging, application of immobilization, and discharge with outpatient orthopedic follow-up and rehabilitation instructions.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
50 | Bilateral procedure | When closed reduction is performed on AC joints of both shoulders during the same encounter. |
51 |