Coding Guidelines: You Are Mistaken If You Think All ICD-9 Codes Expand Into Multiple Options.

Report both acute and chronic conditions that your patient has.

The ICD-10-CM manual seems voluminous. You may be operating under the assumption that ICD-9 codes will always multiply into more specific options. However, that isn't always the case. Conditions requiring two more ICD-9 codes right now might be simplified into a single ICD-10 option in 2013. Let us look for examples from a variety of disease conditions that your patient is likely to be having.

Best bet: To determine whether you should report multiple codes or a single ICD-10- CM code, you need to read your coding guidelines. Keep an eye [...]

- Published on 2011-12-31