Anesthesia Coding Alert

Cardiac history boosts your chances of success

New ICD-9 changes that go into effect Oct. 1 have some personal history codes you'll want to check out. Here's a sneak peek at three you'll want to watch for: 

• V12.53--Personal history of sudden cardiac arrest

• V12.54--Personal history of transient ischemic attack (TIA), and cerebral infarction without residual deficits

• V17.41--Family history of sudden cardiac death (SCD).

Why they matter: Knowing that a patient has a history of cardiac disease or cardiac problems (especially something like a history of sudden cardiac arrest) could affect how your provider delivers anesthesia or monitors the patient during a case. The personal history might also help justify having anesthesia services available (either already providing service or with the anesthesiologist on stand-by) for procedures that might not normally need anesthesia.

"These codes are important in that they can provide a supporting diagnosis that warrants anesthesia attendance for procedures that don't usually require it," says Scott Groudine, MD, an anesthesiologist in Albany, N.Y. "Hopefully, many of the MAC (monitored anesthesia care) policies will add V12.53 as a code that allows for anesthesia reimbursement during most procedures."