Pediatric and family practice coders are all too familiar with ADD-like complaints minus a definitive diagnosis. ICD-9 2011 holds the key to alternative options until further testing is complete.
ICD-9 2011 adds the 799.5x family to the “Ill Defined and Unknown Causes of Morbidity and Mortality” section. New codes include:
- 799.51 – Attention or concentration deficit
- 799.52 – Cognitive communication deficit
- 799.53 – Visuospacial deficit
- 799.54 – Psychomotor deficit
- 799.55 – Frontal lobe and executive function deficit
- 799.59 – Other signs and symptoms involving cognition.
“This new series will be useful for symptoms and signs as a diagnosis before the physician establishes a definitive diagnosis,” says Richard L. Tuck, MD, FAAP, a pediatrician at PrimeCare of Southeastern Ohio in Zanesville. “Pediatricians see children with concerns regarding attention or activity. You don’t have enough information after the first visit for an official diagnosis, but you still need something to report.”
Example: The physician sees a child who has an attention problem but doesn’t yet meet diagnostic criteria for attention deficit disorder. Previously, you couldn’t report coding choices 314.00 (Attention deficit disorder; without mention of hyperactivity) or 314.01 (… with hyperactivity) until the physician established a definitive diagnosis. Beginning Oct. 1, you could submit 799.51 until tests confirm a diagnosis.
Get more primary coding tips from Pediatric Coding Alert, written by Jen Godreau, CPC, CPEDC.