If you've been wondering whether the American Hospital Association (AHA) plans to convert guidance it has published in Coding Clinic over the years to include ICD-10 codes, the answer is no. "I am...
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me four calling birds. I’m starting to think he raided a pet shop. Or maybe he captured these in the park. He says they’re calling birds. They look...
In a perfect world, inpatient facilities would receive the same payments for diseases and procedures after the switch to ICD-10-PCS. We know that won’t happen, that facilities will see some shift in...
If I hear one more person poke fun at ICD-10-CM code V97.33XD (sucked into a jet engine, subsequent encounter), I am going to develop a very strong case of R45.850. (That’s homicidal ideation in case...
Inpatient coders are used to being able to code conditions documented as possible, probable, suspected, or rule out, as if they were in fact confirmed. Outpatient coders can’t do that. They need a...
People are creatures of habit. Some of them are good, some not so good. Coders, too, are creatures of habit. We know certain codes without having to look them up. (Anyone know the code for...
We’ve read the words of caution and heard the urgency of the message: Don’t put off planning for ICD-10. And while there is no one-size-fits-all plan for implementation, there is one tip that...
The Glasgow Coma Scale provides an objective way of recording the conscious state of a person, for initial as well as continuing assessment. A patient is assessed against the criteria of the scale,...
Coders should focus on chest pain, among other areas, as part of a larger review of ICD-9-CM codes and in preparing for ICD-10-CM. Coding chest pain in ICD-9-CM requires the physician to document the...
Don’t let rumor steer you away from the goal of being ready for ICD-10-CM/PCS implementation. By now, everyone has heard that CMS plans to issue a proposed rule with a new ICD-10-CM/PCS...
