ICD-10 code S62.360G: Nondisplaced fracture of neck of second metacarpal bone, right hand

Key takeaways

S62.360G is the billable ICD-10-CM code for a nondisplaced neck fracture of the right second metacarpal, subsequent encounter with delayed healing.

Laterality sits in the sixth character. S62.361G is the left-hand equivalent, so the two codes are never interchangeable.

The 7th character G means healing is slower than expected at a follow-up visit. That is clinically distinct from nonunion, which takes K.

S62.350G is a shaft fracture, not the displaced version of this code. The displaced right second metacarpal neck fracture is S62.330G.

Practice management software like Pabau keeps healing status and laterality in the client record, so claims leave with the right 7th character.

ICD-10 code S62.360G covers a nondisplaced fracture of the neck of the second metacarpal bone, right hand, at a subsequent encounter with delayed healing. The left-hand equivalent is S62.361G. Both are valid, billable ICD-10-CM codes effective October 1, 2025 under the FY2026 edition.

Errors in this family cluster at follow-up rather than at the initial visit. A clinician who codes the first encounter as S62.360A often defaults to S62.360D at every later visit, even when healing has stalled. That mismatch triggers denials and audit requests.

According to the CMS ICD-10 codes reference, every ICD-10-CM code must meet specificity requirements before submission. For this family, specificity includes the hand. A claim that names the wrong side is a coding error, even when the rest of the description matches.

Code details at a glance

The table below is the quick reference for S62.360G. Confirm every field before billing, and check that your HIPAA compliance software covers claim transmission.

S62.360G in the ICD-10-CM hierarchy

Knowing where S62.360G sits in the hierarchy makes its siblings easier to navigate. The code falls under the injury chapter (S00-T88), inside the wrist and hand block. The Bennett’s fracture code S62.211D sits in the same category and carries laterality the same way.

Read the sixth character as two facts at once. It names the metacarpal and it names the side, which is why S62.360 and S62.361 describe the same injury on different hands.

Understanding the 7th character G: Subsequent encounter for fracture with delayed healing

The 7th character is the most clinically consequential element in fracture coding. Getting it wrong risks a denial, and it also misstates the patient’s status in the medical record. The nonunion code S62.606K shows the same mechanism one step further along.

Character G means the patient is at a follow-up visit and the fracture is healing more slowly than expected. Character D covers routine healing, and character K covers established nonunion. The ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines require the physician to document the healing status explicitly before G is supportable.

Hand fracture codes in S62 use only these seven characters. The Gustilo grading extensions attached to long-bone fractures, such as C, E, and F, do not apply here. They appear on forearm codes such as S52.356C instead. A coder moving over from femur or tibia work should expect a shorter list.

Clinical presentation: Nondisplaced fracture of the right second metacarpal neck

A second metacarpal neck fracture usually follows a direct axial load or a crushing injury to the hand. The second metacarpal is more rigid than the fourth and fifth, so neck fractures here are less common than the classic boxer’s fracture. Nondisplaced cases are managed conservatively, which is why subsequent encounter coding runs across several visits.

• Anatomy: The neck of the metacarpal is the narrow region just proximal to the metacarpal head. A fracture here typically angulates volarly.
• Displacement status: Nondisplaced means the fragments stay in anatomic alignment. The displaced neck fracture of the same bone and hand is S62.330G.
• Laterality: This code names the right hand. The same injury on the left hand is S62.361G, and the two are not interchangeable.
• Why delayed healing matters: Splinting and casting depend on adequate immobilization and patient compliance. Delayed healing often reflects poor compliance, nutritional deficiency, or a comorbidity such as diabetes.
• Clinical significance: Delayed healing may prompt extended immobilization, a physical therapy referral, or a surgical consultation. Each of those changes the CPT codes paired with the visit.

Laterality variants: Right hand, left hand, and unspecified

ICD-10-CM builds laterality into the sixth character for metacarpal fractures. There is no unspecified-hand option once the note names the second metacarpal. When the record fails to identify the bone, coding falls back to the other or unspecified metacarpal codes instead.

Use S62.369G only when the documentation truly fails to name the metacarpal. Imaging reports almost always identify the bone and the side, so an unspecified code usually signals a record problem rather than a clinical one. Bilateral injuries need a separate code for each hand.

When to use S62.360G vs other encounter codes for this fracture

The subsequent encounter is where most errors in this family happen. The decision table below follows the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, available through the CDC/NCHS ICD-10-CM web tool. Choosing between D, G, and K takes physician documentation, not coder inference.

Related and sibling ICD-10 codes for metacarpal fracture

S62.360G belongs to a family of nondisplaced metacarpal neck fracture codes. The sixth character carries the bone and the side together, so every metacarpal has a right-hand code and a left-hand code. Use the AAPC Codify ICD-10-CM lookup to confirm a sibling before you submit.

Three more codes sit close enough to S62.360G to be picked by mistake. The table below sets out what each one actually describes.

S62.350G is the substitution worth guarding against. It looks like the displaced version of this code, but it is a shaft fracture. The displaced neck fracture of the same bone and hand is S62.330G, and the two are not interchangeable.

Coders who work across several code families keep one verification habit. It holds for a metacarpal code and for a wrist code such as S62.011A. Read the full description of the code you are about to submit, rather than trusting a digit pattern.

Approximate synonyms and alternate descriptions

Clinical notes, referral letters, and imaging reports rarely use the ICD-10-CM wording. The descriptions below all map to S62.360 when the note names the right hand, and to S62.360G once delayed healing is documented at follow-up.

• Nondisplaced fracture of the neck of the right second metacarpal bone
• Right index finger metacarpal neck fracture, closed
• Right hand second metacarpal neck fracture
• Delayed union, right second metacarpal neck fracture
• Right second metacarpal neck fracture with slow healing
• Nondisplaced subcapital fracture, right second metacarpal

Watch for notes that say “metacarpal neck fracture” without naming the bone or the hand. Query the provider rather than defaulting to an unspecified code. A query takes minutes, and an unspecified code can cost the claim.

Documentation requirements for ICD-10 code S62.360G

A claim for S62.360G needs documentation that goes past confirming the fracture exists. Payers auditing subsequent encounter codes look for language that pins down the hand and the healing status. Strong client record management keeps that language consistent from one visit to the next.

Per the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines Section I.C.19, these elements belong in the clinical note that supports S62.360G:

• Fracture type: “Nondisplaced fracture” stated explicitly, or imaging findings in the record that support it
• Bone specificity: “Second metacarpal” or “index metacarpal”, with the fracture located at the neck
• Laterality: “Right hand” named in the note, because the sixth character carries the side
• Encounter type: Language confirming a follow-up visit rather than a new acute injury
• Healing status: The physician documents “delayed healing” or “delayed union”. A coder cannot infer G from clinical findings alone
• Radiographic support: An imaging report referenced in the note that backs the delayed healing assessment

The same discipline applies across subsequent encounter codes generally, as the documentation rules for S61.441D show. Encounter type, laterality, and status all have to appear in the note itself.

CPT codes commonly used with S62.360G

The right CPT pairing for S62.360G depends on what was done at the subsequent encounter. The AAPC CPT-to-ICD-10 crosswalk helps verify medical necessity for a specific payer.

Rehabilitation is billed separately from the follow-up visit itself. Practices with high hand injury volume run that work in a physical therapy EMR, and hand therapy teams in occupational therapy software.

Append modifier RT to the procedure code when the payer requires laterality on the CPT side. The diagnosis code already carries the right hand, but the procedure code does not.

These pairings are common examples only. Payer policies vary, so confirm medical necessity and any prior authorization requirement before billing.

How Pabau supports accurate ICD-10 coding for fracture follow-up

Denials in this family cluster around one predictable problem. The physician writes “delayed healing” in the note, then the claim goes out as S62.360D because nothing carried that status through to billing. Practice management software like Pabau closes that loop with claims management software built into the same record.

Pabau’s structured digital forms let a practice build fracture follow-up templates that ask for healing status and hand at every visit. Those answers land in the client record, so billing staff can see which 7th character applies without reading back through the note.

• Structured follow-up templates: Prompt clinicians to record healing status at every subsequent fracture visit, not only at the initial presentation
• Laterality captured once: The hand treated is stored with the note, so coders never reconstruct it from narrative text
• Integrated record and billing: Clinical notes feed the claims workflow directly, which shortens the distance between what the physician wrote and what the coder reads
• Claim submission support: A built-in coding workflow helps confirm the ICD-10-CM code and its 7th character before the claim leaves the practice

Stop losing follow-up claims to 7th character errors

Pabau’s claims management and digital documentation tools help orthopedic and hand surgery practices code subsequent encounters accurately and submit clean claims first time.

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Conclusion

The whole code turns on two facts in the note. The physician has to name the right hand, and has to name the delayed healing. A coder can supply neither, and an auditor will look for both.

The fix belongs at the follow-up visit, not at the billing review. A structured fracture template asks for the hand and the healing status while the clinician is still with the patient. By the time the claim is built, the 7th character has already been decided.

Explore our practice management software overview, or Book a demo to walk through the fracture follow-up workflow with us.

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