Does even the mere thought of coding in ICD-10-CM give you a pounding headache? Well, you’re in luck. ICD-10-CM has plenty of codes for reporting that headache. In order to code for a headache, we...
Pain is an expected component of injuries, illnesses, and surgical procedures. In some instances, however, the patient's pain is unexpected or is worse than predicted. Sometimes, the pain can last well beyond the time it should have resolved. Shelley C. Safian, PhD, CCS-P, CPC-H, CPC-I, and Susan E. Garrison, CHCA, CHCAS, CHC, PCS, FCS, CCS-P, CPAR, CPC, CPC-H, provide tips and guidance to help coders accurately report pain management diagnoses and procedures.
One advantage to using ICD-10-PCS is increased specificity. Coders will find increased specificity for the procedure, approach, device, and even anatomical region or body system. In the Medical and...
The eyes are the windows to the soul, but even the best windows can get cloudy or scratched or suffer some other type of trauma. Suppose a patient comes in with cloudy vision. The patient could be...
ICD-10-CM coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction codes will undoubtedly differ from their ICD-9-CM counterparts in some ways, but some aspects will remain the same.
Pain is an expected component of injuries, illnesses, and surgical procedures. Let's face it, breaking your leg hurts. In some instances, however, the patient's pain is unexpected or is worse than predicted. Sometimes, the pain can last well beyond the time it should have resolved.
Remember when your grade school English teacher drilled the rule of punctuation into your head? Instead of an English lesson, consider this an ICD-10-CM punctuation lesson. Brackets are used in the...
Until HHS issues a clear and direct statement on a final ICD-10-CM/PCS implementation date, some healthcare entities will stop any progress to compliance with new ICD-10 requirements, according to...
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day have already passed (and Grandparents Day isn’t until September), but we still see plenty of babies (and grouchy parents) here at Fix ‘Em Up Clinic. Sativa brings in...
The ICD-10-CM makes a distinction between burns and corrosions. The burn codes are for thermal burns, except sunburns, that come from a heat source, such as a fire or hot appliance. You also report e...
Anytown High School held its commencement ceremony over the weekend and it turned out to be a memorable event for more than the usual reason. Class president Marina decided to wear a pair of really,...
The ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting now include guidelines for coding methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), so let’s look at how to code MRSA. The physician...
ICD-10-CM includes some specific guidelines to help coders decide when to code for a current malignancy or a personal history of malignancy. The physician excises a primary malignancy but the patient...
Summer means sand and sun for many people, but a day at the beach can result in a visit to the Fix ‘Em Up Clinic. Danielle hit the beach, but forgot her sunscreen. As a result, she ended up with a...
By now, you may have heard that the ICD-10-CM codes are more specific than those used in the ICD-9-CM system, and fracture coding is one of the areas undergoing the most changes. Shannon McCall, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P, CPC, CEMC, CPC-I, CCDS, discusses fracture coding in ICD-10 and some of the expected documentation challenges associated them.
With the increased specificity required for ICD-10-CM coding, coders need a solid foundation in anatomy and physiology. To help coders prepare for the upcoming transition, we will provide an occasional article about specific anatomical locations and body parts as part of a larger series for ICD-10-CM preparation. This month’s column addresses the anatomy of the skull.
A writer paints a picture with words. The English language alone offers somewhere in the neighborhood of a quarter of a million words. But really how many does the average person use? According to...
Summer semi-officially arrived this week with Memorial Day and that means plenty of sun and sand related illnesses at the Fix ‘Em Up Clinic. Our first patient is Todd, who was trying to grill up the...
Our Town Zoo hosted its annual black tie fundraiser and things got a little, well, wild as the patients at the Fix ‘Em Up Clinic prove. Tiffany made a fashion statement with a bright blue shimmering...
In ICD-10-CM, coders must report two codes to fully describe certain conditions. They will find “Use additional code” notes in the Tabular List at codes when they need to report a secondary code to...
So we’ve survived the zombie apocalypse, but we’re not out of the undead woods yet. It seems a group of vampires is trying to one-up the zombies. But, never fear, vampires can actually be regular...
Gregory House, MD, is hanging up his stethoscope before the transition to ICD-10-CM. I loved House MD when Fox first starting airing it in 2005, but the last few seasons, not so much. Let’s ask Dr...
QUESTION: We are a small anesthesia group and we are concerned about the specificity for ICD-10-CM. If we submit a claim with an unspecified code and the surgeon submits a claim with more specificity, will we still get paid?
Coders will need very specific information in order to code for fractures in ICD-10-CM, including the type of fracture, specific bone fractured, and whether the patient is seen for an initial or subsequent visit. Robert S. Gold, MD, Sandy Nicholson, MA, RHIA, and Shannon E. McCall, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P, CPC, CPC-I, CEMC, CCDS, detail the information physicians must document for accurate fracture code assignment.
Coders often report signs and symptoms when physicians document them in the patient’s medical record. However, coders should not always report additional codes for signs and symptoms. How can coders...
Certain conditions have both an underlying etiology and multiple body system manifestations due to the underlying etiology. ICD-10-CM coding conventions for such conditions require coders to report...
Home repair and improvement can be hazardous to your health. Just ask the residents of Calamity Condos who are visiting the Fix ‘Em Up Clinic. Tom and Wendy decided to repaint the living room of...
Braaaaains! Braaaaains! Don’t look now, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was right about the zombie apocalypse . It’s here! Run for your lives! Okay, we’re not about to be overrun...
...and the documentation coach will turn into a pumpkin if you're not on time. As a CDI specialist, what has been your approach to ICD-10? Are you hoping it will go away? Are you waiting for 2014?...
Spinal conditions can be congenital, pathologic, or traumatic, and they can affect the vertebrae, spinal cord, muscles, nerves, discs, or a combination of the parts of the spine.
Coders will need more information in order to code for fractures in ICD-10-CM. For instance, the physician must document which specific bone is fractured, including which side of the body. They will also need to document whether the patient is seen for an initial or subsequent visit.
Happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend because it’s time to dive into coding for today’s visitors to the Fix ‘Em Up Clinic. Our first patient, nine-year-old Chris, arrived with a really nasty...
A surgeon performs an open reduction of right tibia fracture for an inpatient. Which ICD-10-PCS root operation should be reported? In this case, it’s fairly easy: reposition. In a reposition...
ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS contain a significant number of new codes, which shouldn’t be news to anyone at this point. Most of the codes are longer than the current ICD-9-CM codes, which could increase...
The additions and revisions to the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting in 2012 include some new information that coders should be aware of in preparation for ICD-10-CM/PCS implementation. Sandy Nicholson, MA, RHIA, and Shelley C. Safian, PhD, MAOM/HSM, CCS-P, CPC-H, CPC-I, CHA, explore some of the biggest guideline changes.
[caption id="attachment_2698" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Hey, look, it's a friend of Wile E.!"] [/caption] Wile E. Coyote is back in the Acme ED, this time with a broken arm, leg, pelvis...
A one-year delay in ICD-10-CM/PCS isn’t a slam dunk. “We’re recommending it, but it’s not [guaranteed],” said Denise Buenning, group director CMS Office of E-Health Standards and Services. Buenning...
After HHS proposed year-long delay of ICD-10, questions emerged regarding the current ICD-9-CM code freeze. CMS confirmed that the code freeze will hold until ICD-10-CM/PCS is implemented regardless...
Don’t trust the squirrels in the park. They may look cute and friendly, but they are really covert operatives on a mission to steal your food. [caption id="attachment_2676" align="alignright" width="...
Do you suffer from triskaidekaphobia, paraskevidekatriaphobia or friggatriskaidekaphobia? In other words are you afraid of the number 13 or Friday the 13 th ? More importantly, can you code for those...
And the new proposed ICD-10-CM/PCS implementation date is (drum roll, please)…October 1, 2014. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the new date as part...
My feet are killing me. I wonder what the problem is. Let’s see what it could be and how we would code it in ICD-10-CM. I got a new pair of shoes, so maybe the problem is a blister. That should be...
Several years ago, a pharmaceutical company came under fire because its sales reps were pushing the company’s drugs using Tigger and Eeyore, two popular characters from the "Winnie the Pooh" series...
The transition to ICD-10-CM is coming. The only question is when. Despite the delay, coders and other HIM professionals must continue to prepare for the transition.
Spring is in the air and Anytown just held its combined Spring Festival and Easter egg hunt. I’m sad to say things did not go smoothly, judging by the number of patients in the Fix ‘Em Up outpatient...
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." [caption id="attachment_2635" align="alignright" width="150" caption="It's Pandemonium!"] [/caption] Ah, dear...
Poor Wile E. Coyote ® . He just came into the Acme ED with a skull fracture caused by a falling boulder. It seems the Roadrunner ® got away again. Dr. Frankenbean documents a closed fracture of the...
The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) may do more harm than good by delaying ICD-10-CM/PCS implementation, according to survey, Industry Reaction to Potential Delay of ICD-10 ,...
The transition to ICD-10-CM is coming. The only question is when. Despite the possible delay, coders and other HIM professionals must continue to prepare for the transition. Shannon E. McCall, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P, CPC, CPC-I, CEMC, CCDS, Sandy Nicholson, MA, RHIA, Robert S. Gold, MD, Jennifer Avery, CCS, CPC-H, CPC, CPC-I, and Kim Felix, RHIA, CCS, provide information on how ICD-10-CM will—and will not—differ from ICD-9-CM.
