The Cooperating Parties made revisions to the 2017 ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting to explain how bilateral conditions should be reported when the two sides are treated during separate encounters, as well as what codes would be appropriate once one side has been...Read More »
Q: What is the meaning of the addition to the 2017 Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting related to clinical validation? The new statement reads:
“The assignment of the diagnosis code is based upon the provider’s diagnostic statement that the condition...Read More »
Q: We are getting a number of patients who are admitted for a three-day inpatient stay for tikosyn-loading due to atrial fibrillation (a fib). The DRG weight is very low for these patients, whose diagnosis is usually chronic or persistent a fib. I am wondering if there is any...Read More »
Q: I have a patient with alcohol-induced pancreatitis. In this case, the documentation notes a lactate level of 2.9 mmol/L with acute kidney injury (AKI). I have always learned that systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) is defined as two or more of the following...Read More »
Q: I have a question about coding “unspecified” versus “other specified,” as to whether schizophrenia, multiple episodes, acute exacerbation, is coded as schizophrenia, unspecified. The new ICD-10-CM/PCS Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting do not explain whether paranoid,...Read More »
At this time last year, many CDI specialists, providers, and coders worried about the arrival of ICD-10; some spoke of doomsday scenarios with mountains of claim denials and delayed payments. One year later, the debut of ICD-10 is earning widespread comparisons to Y2K, the turn-of-the-century...Read More »
Q:I’m having problems determining the correct coding guidelines for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pneumonia. Have the guidelines changed regarding COPD and pneumonia? Do you now have to code the pneumonia as a COPD with a lower respiratory infection...Read More »
The long-anticipated ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting for fiscal year 2017 were released earlier this month, and include a definition for Exclude 1 notes, guidance for meaning and application of the word “with,” and clarification for laterality, according to an...Read More »