ED Coding and Reimbursement Alert

From extreme epistasis to dolphin bites, specificity is all important with ICD-10 How specific? You'll need to know if that spacecraft collision injuring an occupant was an initial or subsequent encounter! Although continued efforts are underway to postpone this implementation, you should move forward assuming that the official startup on Oct. 1, 2013 will not be delayed, says certified ICD-10 instructor Caral Edelberg, CPC, CPMA, CAC, CCS-P, CHC; AHIMA, President, Edelberg Compliance Associates, Baton Rouge, LA. Read on for Edelberg's instruction on how ICD-10 will affect ED coding and tips for a smooth transition. Brush Up on Basic ICD-9, ICD-10 Differences ICD-10-CM codes are the ones designated for use in documenting diagnoses. They are 3-7 characters in length and total 68,000, while ICD-9-CM diagnosis codes are 3-5 digits in length and number over 14,000. The ICD-10-PCS are the procedure codes and they are alphanumeric, 7 characters in length, and total [...]