Q: CMS released guidance last summer about not auditing or counting errors for the specificity of an ICD-10-CM code. CMS is not going to count the code as an error as long as the first three digits are correct. Does this apply to medical necessity diagnoses and edits?
Q: What can we report for the physician if circumcision is done during delivery? Do we bill that on a separate claim for the infant? Is this a covered procedure?
Q: In terms of coding blood transfusions, does the documentation of which intravenous (IV) site used have to come from the physician in the progress note or can this particular information be extrapolated from nursing notes, orders, etc.? As far as I can tell, a blood transfusion is usually administered to whatever peripheral IV line/site is available, unless otherwise contraindicated or instructed differently by a specific physician order.
Q: How many times should Glasgow Coma Scale information be captured? If you have the ambulance, ED physician, and attending physician all recording the score, should each be reported?
Q: Is there guidance on reviewing a record, such as an operative note, that has not been signed by a physician? I am at a facility that allows coding from unsigned transcriptions. I was always told that the information needs to be confirmed by a signature as valid before including that information in the review worksheet. Do you have any recommendations for this?
Q: A patient fractured all metatarsals last year and had open reduction and internal fixation. The patient now has a nonunion of the fracture sites and is going back to the OR for an amputation. What would be the appropriate ICD-10-CM seventh character to report?
Q: We recently had attending physicians send back queries with responses by the physician assistant (PA) or nurse practitioner (NP) who documented for them. Is it acceptable for a PA or NP to answer queries after the patient is discharged?
