CPT code 28001 designates drainage of an infected bursa in the foot, a focused minor operative procedure used to remove purulent or inflammatory fluid from a bursal sac located between tendon, muscle, and bone. This procedure is clinically important because timely drainage can relieve pain, reduce local infection, and help guide targeted antimicrobial therapy. Nationally, such procedures factor into outpatient surgical volumes and influence coding, billing, and clinical pathways for foot and ankle infections.

Key payers covered in this analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise overview of clinical context for the procedure, expected sites of service, common billing modifiers listed in input, and the typical administrative considerations for outpatient drainage of foot bursae. The publication also outlines benchmarking points and policy-relevant issues where data is available; where input data is missing, the text notes that specific items are not available in the input.

This summary provides clinicians, billing professionals, and policy analysts with a clear statement of what CPT code 28001 represents, why it matters for outpatient surgical care, and what topics to expect in the full publication, including coding guidance, payer coverage considerations, and clinical context.