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.
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.
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 ,...
Knowing spinal anatomy provides the foundation necessary to assign codes both before and after the switch to ICD-10-CM. Shelley C. Safian, Kim Pollock, RN, MBA, CPC, and Shannon E. McCall, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P, CPC, CPC-I, CEMC, CCDS, guide coders through the anatomy and common coding situations in ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM.
