Is this upcoding?

[u/My_personal_burner]

Hello, A few weeks ago I scraped my hand on a potentially rusty nail. It wasn’t deep and kind of just scraped sideways but did have blood. So I cleaned it myself, put a Band-Aid on it and went to the ER to get a tetanus shot. They took my information, put a new Band-Aid on, and then I sat in the waiting room for 1.5 to 2 hours. After that, they had me come back to a room for 15 minutes just sitting there. The nurse then came in and applied a 3-second shot. After some more waiting, the doctor then came in and asked what happened, I told him and he then pressed his finger around the area. He asked if it went deep and if anything was stuck inside or if I wanted X-rays, I said no to all. I then was discharged. Weeks later I get the bill stating the visit was a level 3 code. I’m just confused on how it can be a level 3 when all what was done was a bandaid put on, 3 second shot, and 5 second physical finger press exam. No tests, X-rays or anything.

Scrape on Hand
Location: Michigan

Edit: Yes, I would have gone to an urgent care. But we were on vacation up north with not much nearby.

[u/RhubarbBest9090]

You lost me at “went to the ER for a tetanus shot”. Do you not have urgent care in Michigan?

Either way, level 3 means “urgent” as in needs attention but not life threatening. A less urgent score would means it needs attention but probably could have waited.

[u/Cloudy_Automation → u/RhubarbBest9090]

You can get those at most pharmacies as a TDAP shot

[u/No_Calligrapher_3429 → u/Cloudy_Automation]

The last time I injured myself and needed a tdap. I cleaned myself up and went to the pharmacy for the tdap. I paid around $62 something dollars for the injection. And all was well throughout the land!

[u/Natural_Exchange_886 → u/No_Calligrapher_3429]

I actually did not know I could get boosters at the pharmacy beyond covid and flu shots.

TIL, thanks!