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Cardiology Coding Alert

ICD-9 Update:

Cocaine Poisoning? Add 970.81 to Your Coding Options

Published on Tue Aug 24, 2010

Try your hand at this critical care scenario.When the emergency department calls your cardiologist to care for a patient with cocaine poisoning, do you know what to do? A new code effective Oct. 1, 2010, changes what you should report.Here's what's new: When ICD-9 2011 goes into effect Oct. 1, you can expect to see 970.81 (Poisoning by central nervous stimulants; cocaine) available for when you need to report cocaine poisoning.Conquer This Critical Care ScenarioPatients with cocaine poisoning "can be very complex, extremely sick," and are potential critical care cases, says Michael A. Granovsky, MD, CPC, FACEP, president of MRSI, an ED coding and billing company in Woburn, Mass.Consider this detailed example from Sarah Todt, RN, CPC, CEDC, director of education and compliance for MRSI. Scenario: A 22-year-old patient presents with acute chest pain and hypertension. History reveals that he inhaled four lines of cocaine within the past hour and [...]
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