The use of dual coding is frequently discussed and debated as a way to prepare for the transition to ICD-10. Donna Smith, RHIA, Thea Campbell, MBA, RHIA, Gloryanne Bryant, BS, RHIA, RHIT, CCS, CDIP, CCDS, and Melanie Endicott, MBA/HCM, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P, evaluate the pros and cons of dual coding.
Deborah Grider, CPC, CPC-I, CPC-H, CPC-P, CPMA, CEMC, COBGC, CPCD, CCS-P, CDIP, senior manager at Blue and Company in Indianapolis, an industry expert on ICD-10, provides preparation tips and action steps for ICD-10 implementation.
I am back to my ICD-10 blog following a long illness. It is great to be back! Why is it that a date ending in 2013 seems so much closer to October 2014? Others must feel this way because there seems...
Anytown got hit with some significant snowfall, which lead to some interesting injuries at the Fix ‘Em Up Clinic. Dave came in complaining of back pain after spending two hours shoveling his driveway...
Cold and flu season is in full swing, so I thought it might be a good time to look at coding for influencza in ICD-10-CM. If you look up influenza in the ICD-9-CM index, you might think we currently...
A sequela is the residual effect (condition produced) after the acute phase of an illness or injury ends. ICD-10-CM includes codes specifically designed to report sequela, such as I69.953 (hemiplegia...
Being a Jedi knight is hard work. And it’s dangerous, especially when your father is out to kill you and your friend gets encased in carbonite. Intrepid coders that we are, we will brave the frozen...
So far, we’ve covered three different ICD-10-PCS guidelines for multiple procedures. We’ve looked at how to report multiple procedures involving: Same root operation, different body parts as defined...
Happy 2013! We survived the Mayan apocalypse and received a one-year extension on ICD-10 implementation (which according to some people is more of an apocalyptic event than 12-21-12). Where do your...
Upon quick glance, the FY 2013 ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting probably look very familiar to coders. They're comparable in length to the ICD-9-CM guidelines. They also follow the same format.
Providers and coders seem to speak two different languages-clinical and coding. Providers already have issues parsing ICD-9-CM "coder speak," so how can you get them to understand ICD-10?
The holiday presents have all been unwrapped, and while the children were (mostly) thrilled by their gifts, their parents aren’t as pleased with what happened once the kids started playing with them...
‘Tis the day before Christmas and all are not well at North Pole Industries. Ernie the head elf has lost his grip, literally. Ernie, it seems, can’t hold on to the toys he’s building. When he goes to...
It’s the end of the world as we know it and the people in the Fix ‘Em Up Clinic waiting room don’t feel fine. Apparently some people really believed that today would be the end of the world and their...
Moderation is not a term usually associated with the holiday season, as you can see from the waiting room at Fix ‘Em Up Clinic. Clark spent two days stringing holiday lights over everything: his tree...
ICD-10-PCS introduces plenty of new concepts. One that could cause coder confusion involves how to report a procedure when the physician changes the approach. The ICD-10-PCS guidelines state: If...
ICD-10-CM Chapter 19 codes for injury, poisoning, and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88) demonstrate the specificity inherent in the new coding system. Betsy Nicoletti, MS, CPC, and Shannon McCall, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P, CPC, CPC-I, CEMC, CCDS, dig into the details of codes for injuries and underdosing.
When you search the 2013 ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting you will find chapter-specific guidelines for each chapter except for Chapters 3, 8, and 12. Chapter 1: Certain...
It’s the second week of deer camp and all the hunters are at Fix ‘Em Up Clinic. Moe came into the clinic with some serious frostbite. Apparently, he fell asleep in the latrine at the camp and spent...
Most of the odd ICD-10-CM codes, the ones that make us laugh or roll our eyes, live in Chapter 20 (External causes of mortality). Here you will find such gems as: X32, exposure to sunlight (which...
