The ICD-10 mandate may be delayed another year, but providers and EHR vendors shouldn’t view the reprieve as an opportunity to relax.
As hospitals prepare to transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10 coding by October 2015, computer-assisted coding (CAC) tools will become increasingly important.
We are hearing lots about ICD-10-CM/PCS (International Classification of Diseases, 10th revisions, Clinical Modification/Procedure Coding System) documentation needs.
Here is what you should check in your physician’s documentation.
As the conversion takes place from ICD-9 to ICD-10 in 2013, you will not be treating the codes in a way you always did. Often, you will have more options that may need tweaking the way …
When ICD-9 becomes ICD-10 in 2013, you will not always have a simple crosswalk relationship between old codes and the new ones. Often, you’ll have more options that may require tweaking the way you document services and a coder reports it. Check out the following examples of how ICD-10 will change your coding options when the calendar turns to Oct. 1, 2013.
Celebrate Sinusitis Codes’ One-to-One Relationship for ICD-10
When your physician treats a patient for sinusitis, you should report the appropriate sinusitis code for sinus membrane lining inflammation. Use 461.x for acute sinusitis. For chronic sinusitis — frequent or persistent infections lasting more than three months — assign 473.x.
For both acute and chronic conditions, you’ll choose the fourth digit code based on where the sinusitis occurs. For example, for ethmoidal chronic sinusitis, you should report (473.2, Chronic sinusitis; ethmoidal). Your otolaryngologist will most likely prescribe a decongestant, pain reliever or antibiotics to treat sinusitis.
ICD-10 difference: Good news. These sinusitis options have a one-to-one match with upcoming ICD-10 codes. For acute sinusitis diagnoses, you’ll look at the J01.-0 codes. For instance, 461.0 (Acute maxillary sinusitis) translates to J01.00 (Acute maxillary sinusitis, unspecified). Code 461.1 (Acute frontal sinusitis) maps directly to J01.10 (Acute frontal sinusitis). Notice how the definitions are mostly identical. Like ICD-9, the fourth digit changes to specify location.
For chronic sinusitis diagnoses, you’ll look to the J32.- codes. For instance, in the example above, 473.2 maps direction to J32.2 (Chronic ethmoidal sinusitis). Again, this is a direct one-to-one ratio with identical definitions. Like ICD-9, the fourth digit changes to specify location.
Physician documentation: Currently, the physician should pinpoint the location of the sinusitis. This won’t change in 2013.
However, you’ll scrap the 461.x and 473.x options and turn to J01.-0 and J32.- in your ICD-10…
When ICD-9 becomes ICD-10 in 2013, you’ll need to get familiar with different sections in the new diagnosis code system, even if the condition you’re reporting has a simple one-to-one crosswalk.
When your surgeon performs a hiatal hernia repair, yo…
When ICD-9 becomes ICD-10 in October 2013, the diagnosis codes you’re accustomed to reporting will no longer exist. Many diagnosis codes will include more details than their current counterparts, and some sub-codes of the same family will even move t…
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ICD-9 2011 and ICD-10 2011 both have coding options for a malignant neoplasm of the main bronchus. Both indicate that the codes are appropriate for malignant neoplasms of the carina or hilus of lung.
What’s different: ICD-9 2011 includes simply 162.2…
600 coders, physicians, and office managers gathered in Orlando, Fla. for one and a half jam-packed days of education, networking, and shopping at the December 2011 Coding Update and Reimbursement Conference. Coders’ biggest struggle was absorbing all the information – and not overdoing the holiday buying. Experts offered the inside scoop on medical coding changes for 2011 and beyond. Here are my top picks:
This…