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 »
Tara Bell, MSN, RN, CCDS, CCM, manager of CDI and utilization review services at United Audit Systems, Inc. (UASI) of Cincinnati, worked in CDI for more than 13 years and in nursing for more than 24. For the past several years, she’s gone above and beyond helping the South...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 »
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 »
