Research How to Report Radiation Oncology Procedures in ICD-10-PCS

Posted on 25. Apr, 2013 by rpandit.

Highlight this character for the radioactive isotope.

When you prepare to report a radiology oncology procedure, you need to pay particular attention to characters 3-6, as these specify the radiation, treatment type, modality, and radioactive isotope.

Review Your Seven Digit PCS Structure

When reporting any ICD-10-PCS code, you have seven characters. You can break them down as follows:

Character 1 Section
Character 2 Body System
Character 3 Root Type
Character 4 Treatment Site
Character 5 Modality Qualifier
Character 6 Isotope
Character 7 Qualifier

For radiation oncology services, you can focus on the first character of “D,” because “D” stands for “radiation oncology.”

Specifically, the main focus of your character selection should be the following:

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New ‘J’ Code Will Replace 034.0 for Strep Throat Dx

Posted on 11. Mar, 2013 by rpandit.

Fortunately, however, coding choices for this condition won’t expand dramatically.

 Your otolaryngology practice probably sees patients with symptoms of strep throat every day, and this common illness is marked by pain and redness in the throat, potential fever, and sometimes a rash.

 ICD-9 Coding Rules: When using the ICD-9-CM code set, you report 034.0 (Streptococcal sore throat) if the patient suffers from streptococcal sore throat. The ICD-9 manual also directs you to this code if the patient suffers from streptococcal tonsillitis.

 ICD-10 Changes: Effective Oct. 1, 2014, you won’t have a simple catch-all code for streptococcal throat infections. Instead, ICD-10 will differentiate between streptococcal pharyngitis and streptocollal tonsillitis, as follows:

                        J02.0 (Streptococcal pharyngitis)

                        J03.00 (Acute streptococcal tonsillitis, unspecified)

                        J03.01 (Acute recurrent streptococcal tonsillitis)

 Documentation: You should not report the strep throat diagnosis code unless your practice receives confirmation from a lab test (either rapid strep or throat culture) indicating that the patient tested positive for a streptococcal throat infection. If you don’t have a positive lab test confirming strep throat, you should simply report the diagnosis codes for the symptoms (such as sore throat, fever, etc.)

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Z15 and V84 Trade Places in 2014 for Coding Neoplasm Genetic Susceptibility

Posted on 13. Feb, 2013 by rpandit.

Follow instructions to include code for current neoplasm and family history, too.

You can expect a direct crosswalk of a few ICD-9-CM codes to ICD-10-CM for reporting certain genetic susceptibility test results.

ICD-9-CM Codes:

• V84.01, Genetic susceptibility to malignant neoplasm of breast
• V84.02, Genetic susceptibility to malignant neoplasm of ovary
• V84.03, Genetic susceptibility to malignant neoplasm of prostate
• V84.04, Genetic susceptibility to malignant neoplasm of endometrium
• V84.09, Genetic susceptibility to other malignant neoplasm

ICD-10-CM Codes:

• Z15.01, Genetic susceptibility to malignant neoplasm of breast
• Z15.02, Genetic susceptibility to malignant neoplasm of ovary
• Z15.03, Genetic susceptibility to malignant neoplasm of prostate
• Z15.04, Genetic susceptibility to malignant neoplasm of endometrium
• Z15.09, Genetic susceptibility to other malignant neoplasm

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ICD-10: Learn This “Late Effects” Change Sooner Rather Than Later

Posted on 23. Jan, 2013 by rpandit.

Here’s how to sequence this diagnosis code.

When a patient develops a breast abscess three months after her delivery due to an inverted nipple that was problematic during her pregnancy, you’ll have to assign a late effect code.

Currently, you would report 677 (Late effect of complication of pregnancy, childbirth, and the puerperium). 

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Reader Question: Not All Pain is ‘Typical’

Posted on 23. Jan, 2013 by rpandit.

Question: What’s the diagnosis code for “atypical” chest pain?

Answer: The ICD-9 index points to 786.59 (Other chest pain) for atypical chest pain. This code applies for any sort of discomfort, pressure, or tightness in the chest if there’s no more specific code for the condition.

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Orthopedics In-Depth: Justify Your Choice of Jones Fracture Code in ICD-10

Posted on 23. Jan, 2013 by rpandit.

Confirm side of foot and displacement of fracture.

ICD-9 offers only a single code for closed fracture of metatarsal bone(s) – 825.25 (Fracture of metatarsal bone[s] closed). Note that is the only code for the closed fracture of one or more metatarsal bones and is not specific for a particular metatarsal bone. You can report the same code for fracture in any metatarsal bone, first to fifth.

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S21.1_ Adds Detail Beyond 876.0 for Back Wounds

Posted on 24. Dec, 2012 by rpandit.

Laceration, puncture, and more expand codes.

Coding wound closure requires identifying wound characteristics, and that will become a lot more specific when you change from ICD-9 to ICD-10.

Remember: CMS has finalized the ICD-10 implementation date for Oct. 1, 2014, delaying the action one year from the original deadline.

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ICD-10 – Switch from 567.22 to K65.1 for Peritoneal Abscess

Posted on 18. Jan, 2012 by rpandit.

Little changes from ICD-9 to ICD-10 for this condition.

Your surgeon may diagnose a peritoneal abscess when a procedure such as abdominal paracentesis confirms a pocket of infected fluid and pus within the abdominal cavity.

That’s when you’ll turn to 567.22 (Peritoneal abscess) to describe the diagnosis. But when ICD-9 shifts to ICD-10 on Oct. 1, 2013, you’ll need to report the condition with K65.1 (Peritoneal abscess).

Code cause, if known:

PS: To subscribe to The Coding Institute’s ICD-10 Coding Alert, Click Here

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Qualedix, Inc. Partners with the Coding Institute to Bring Enhanced Quality and Education to its Managed Services Solution for ICD-10 Testing

Posted on 22. Jun, 2011 by jennifer.godreau.

Naples, FL (June 15, 2011) –Qualedix, an advanced healthcare testing organization, today announced it has partnered with the Coding Institute, LLC, a company dedicated to offering accurate healthcare solutions, that will provide native ICD-10 coding expertise and educational services to the industry leading Simplicedi testing platform.

The combined market offerings enable greater accuracy, speed and a true clinical approach to tackling the arduous task of testing thousands of new ICD-10 codes for providers and payers alike.

“At Qualedix, we strive for excellence in our data solutions for the industry and clinical knowledge is paramount to effectively remediate and test ICD-10 changes across the healthcare industry. The Coding Institute brings to a new echelon of quality and expert knowledge to better effectively serve the market through our testing managed services,” said Mark Lott, CEO of Qualedix. “Also, all of our clients need education to assist in the transition period and we are proud to have TCI as our education and training partner.”

“The Coding Institute is excited about the opportunity to partner with Qualedix to provide unmatched testing and training to help healthcare professionals implement ICD-10 compliantly and efficiently,” said Jennifer Godreau, BA, CPC, CPMA, CPEDC, Director of the SuperCoder.com and Consulting & Revenue Cycle Solutions divisions of the Coding Institute.  “As the healthcare industry’s most advanced ICD-10 testing and education methodology, this managed services solution identifies key areas of focus for hospitals, insurers, and providers and allows us to prevent

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ICD-10: Prep Yourself for New Hyperlipidemia Codes

Posted on 25. Mar, 2011 by dchandhok.

When ICD-10 goes into effect in 2013, high cholesterol will still be a challenge for your patients. Here’s a look at how coding for this, and similar diagnoses, compares between ICD-9 and ICD-10.

ICD-9-CM Codes:

• 272.0, Pure hypercholesterolemia
• 272.1, Pure hyperglyceridemia
• 272.2, Mixed hyperlipidemia
• 272.4, Other and unspecified hyperlipidemia

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