Modifier 57: Decision for surgery
When it is appropriate
Append modifier 57 to an evaluation and management code when that visit is the encounter at which the decision to perform a major surgery (typically a 90 day global procedure) was made, so the visit is payable separately from the global surgical package even though it falls the day before or the day of the surgery.
When it is not appropriate
Do not use 57 for a visit tied to a minor procedure with a 0 or 10 day global period, where modifier 25 is the correct choice instead, or for a routine preoperative visit that does not itself represent the surgical decision making encounter.
CMS preference
Use 57 instead of 25 specifically when the global period involved is a major procedure and the decision for surgery was made at that visit.
Retrieved 2026-07-18.
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