Cardiology Coding Alert

If you've got the 2013 transition to ICD-10 on the brain, chances are you looked at "Perform AICD Services? Don't Miss This All New V12.53 Rule" and wondered what your AICD coding might look like after the big diagnosis coding change.

Your final ICD-10 code choice will depend on the codes and guidelines in effect for the relevant date of service, as well as the physician's specific documentation. But this rundown, based on the ICD-10-CM 2010 files posted at www.cdc.gov/nchs/icd/icd10cm.htm#10update, will help give you an idea of what to expect. Many of the code definitions look much the same. But items such as cardiac arrest and mechanical complications may require you to dig a little deeper into documentation to choose among codes that have greater specificity.

Keep in mind: "The transition date for ICD-10 codes is Oct 1, 2013," stressed CMS's Stewart Streimer during a CMS-sponsored Open Door Forum. "But there are a lot of things that must happen before then, and I expect many of the payers may even require ICD-10 codes before then so a sufficient amount of testing can take place," he said.