What are the possible global period durations for minor surgeries?

• A. 0 days
• B. 0 days or 10 days
• C. 30 days
• D. 90 days

Answer: (B)

The global period is the post-procedure window during which related follow-up care is considered bundled into the original procedure’s payment. For minor surgeries, this window can be either zero days or ten days. If the global period is zero days, postoperative visits are billed separately, since the post-op care isn’t included in the initial payment. If the global period is ten days, the standard postoperative visits that occur within that ten-day window are included in the original code and aren’t billed separately. Major surgeries, by contrast, carry longer global periods (commonly 90 days, with some codes using 30 days), so the correct understanding for minor procedures is that their global period can be either 0 or 10 days.