Cardiology Coding Alert

Keep these guidelines on assumptions, renal disease, and heart disease handy.Hypertension (HTN) is on the rise -- perhaps a third of the U.S. population is already affected. That means that if your HTN coding skills aren't top notch, many of your claims are at risk of errors.To keep your coding compliant, apply these nine rules based on the ICD-9 official guidelines. (You can download the guidelines from www.cdc.gov/nchs/icd/icd9cm_addenda_guidelines.htm. See section I.C.7.a.)1: ICD-9 Has a Hypertension Table; Use ItCoding HTN diagnoses can be complex, but the Hypertension Table, listed under the ICD-9 index entry "Hypertension," helps simplify your search. The table shows not just the basic 401.x (Essential hypertension) codes, but also the codes for conditions due to or associated with HTN. Additionally, the table helps clarify when your code options vary for malignant, benign, or unspecified conditions. Once you've found the code in the index, remember to check it in [...]