James S. Kennedy, MD, CCS, discusses the increased clinical specificity required for coders to report strokes and transient ischemic attacks in ICD-10.
Not surprisingly, coders will have many more options to report how a patient was injured in ICD-10-CM. Betty Hovey, CPC, CPC-H, CPB, CPMA, CPC-I, CPCD , and Shannon E. McCall, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P, CPC, CPC-I, CEMC, CCDS , explain how the codes differ from ICD-9-CM E codes, when to report them, and why coders should not be too worried about the transition.
The auditory system has its own code category in ICD-10-CM because of the number of new codes and specificity available. Shelley C. Safian, PhD, CCS-P, CPC-H, CPC-I , reviews ear anatomy and how to report newly introduced diseases and conditions.
Inpatient coders are used to being able to code conditions documented as possible, probable, suspected, or rule out, as if they were in fact confirmed. Outpatient coders can’t do that. They need a...
You all know that I have been unhappy with some code definitions in ICD-9 and have ucceeded in getting some changes made in ICD-9 and ICD-10-CM code sets.
Coders are aware that ICD-10-CM will allow much more specificity than ICD-9-CM, and that is very evident in the section covering injuries to the wrist, hand, and fingers (S60–S69).
Brush up on your knowledge of cardiovascular system anatomy as you learn how to code cardiovascular diseases in ICD-10-CM during the live, 90-minute webcast Reduce the Fear of ICD-10-CM...
I really want the t-shirt that says, “I only do what the voices in my head tell me” and its companion shirt, “The voices in my head don’t like you.” Sadly too many people I know might believe it...
One of the things that drives me crazy about how media, Congress, and the AMA discuss ICD-10 codes is their focus on the External Causes codes. Granted some of those codes are silly or strange or...
Maybe the AMA’s letter did the trick. Or maybe CMS just thought better of its decision not to conduct end-to-end testing prior to ICD-10 implementation. According to MLN Matters® SE1409 , CMS will...
The added specificity of ICD-10 may require coders to learn more about disease processes and terminology in order to code accurately. Lori-Lynne A. Webb, CPC, CCS-P, CCP, CHDA, COBGC, reviews some medical terms coders should know and steps to take to improve communication between providers and coders.
What did you get for Valentine’s Day? Flowers? Chocolate? Mono? It is the kissing disease after all. ICD-9-CM includes only one code for infectious mononucleosis: 075. That code includes glandular...
Poor Paul, he just wanted to take his black Labrador Molly to the vet for her checkup. Instead he ended up needing a doctor. Paul put down a sheet in his truck so Molly wouldn’t have to sit on the...
/*--> */ In its continuing quest to halt ICD-10 implementation, the AMA is touting a new study by Nachimson Advisors that shows much higher costs to physician practices than initially estimated in...
Is this love that I’m feeling? Or do I have some deadly disease? What are my symptoms? Well, I feel lightheaded and dizzy. It could be the signs of new love or it could be acute mountain sickness...
There before me was a pale horse and its rider was named Reimbursement. Meet the final horseman of the ICD-10 Apocalypse and probably the one that keeps your C-suite up at night: Reimbursement. The...
In part two of a series, Shelley C. Safian, PhD, CCS-P, CPC-H, CPC-I, explains how to identify various types of viral skin infections and how reporting for them will change in ICD-10-CM.
It turns out that Punxsutawney Phil seeing his shadow, and thereby forecasting six more weeks of winter, wasn’t the most painful part of Groundhog Day. Phil picked a bad moment to suffer from stage...
Shoveling snow can be great exercise. You can burn a lot of calories (depending on how much snow you’re shoveling and how much effort you’re putting into it). However, shoveling snow can also be...
These sample queries were adapted from The CDI Specialist’s Guide to ICD-10, created and donated by Cheryl Ericson, MS, RN, CCDS, CDIP, AHIMA-Approved ICD-10-CM/PCS Trainer, CDI education director at HCPro in Danvers, Mass.