# Help with code for exposure to swine flu



## HKOFOID (May 29, 2009)

Does anyone know what the correct diagnosis code is for exposure to swine flu?


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## Melissa_M (May 29, 2009)

Please refer to Swine Flu Prompts Coding Concerns April 27th, 2009 on the AAPC website.  I think this will answer your questions.


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## Joe_coder07 (Jun 1, 2009)

Hi,

Please go through the below para,

There is no ICD-9-CM code specific to swine flu. Sheri Poe Bernard, CPC,CPC-H, CPC-P, vice president of clinical coding content at American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) said, “The government is working on a new code for swine flu … everyone at the CDC is scrambling. At the very least, swine flu will be indexed to existing codes by October for the 2010 ICD-9-CM. There may be a new unique code for swine flu by then, too, if possible.” Until there is a more specific code for swine flu, you have the 487 Influenza codes to diagnose the condition.

Although there was no proposal for a code specific to swine flu during the Sept. 2008 or the March 2009 ICD-9-CM Coordination and Maintenance (C&M) Committee Meeting, The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) may rapidly advance its development in response to the current outbreak.

Bernard said, “Mechanisms for fast-tracking emerging conditions have been in place since 2002, when the events of Sept. 11, 2001 led to a fast-tracking of E codes that describe sources of injury due to terrorist acts. When there was a threat of avian influenza in 2005, the government discussed the issue at the September 2005 C&M meeting, and created 488 Influenza due to identified avian influenza virus; however, this code did not become effective until Oct. 1 2007.”


*I would code this as "V01.89 Contact or exposure to other communicable diseases"*

Regds,
Joseph Amalraj Antonisamy CPC-H


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## celestiny (Aug 17, 2009)

I agree - we are using V01.89 to code for the exposure, but 487 codes if the swabs come back positive for the infection.


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## rahulasrivastava (Aug 19, 2009)

From Oct. 1, 2009, we can use 488.1 (new code for 2010) for confirmed cases of swine flu.


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