ED Coding and Reimbursement Alert
Know the Region for Radiculopathy
Question: A patient presented to our ED with back pain, and the physician diagnosed her with lumbosacral radiculopathy. How should we report this diagnosis? Codify Subscriber Answer: When your physician documents a diagnosis of lumbosacral radiculopathy, you should report M54.17 (Radiculopathy, lumbosacral region). Tip: You will choose the appropriate code for radiculopathy depending upon the region of the spine involved. Your other radiculopathy choices include the following: If you aren’t able to find out where the radiculopathy occurred, evaluate the physician record to find documentation of the location.
Related Articles
ED Coding and Reimbursement Alert
- 2019 Payment:
CMS Chooses Not to Implement E/M Changes in 2019
But some new updates are applicable to EDs. Emergency departments have been keeping a close [...] - Catheter Placement:
Evaluate Your Catheter Placement Code Options
Step one: Identify “indwelling.” If you’re reporting 51701 (Insertion of non-indwelling bladder catheter [e.g., straight catheterization [...] - Appeals:
Straighten out Your Appeals Processes in the New Year
Avoid blindly appealing — first, do your research. With the turn of the calendar often [...] - You Be the Coder:
Get A Handle on Modifiers
Question: Our ED physician attempted to reduce a fracture of the left hip, but was [...] - Reader Question:
Get to the Bottom of Excludes1 Note
Question: If an Excludes1 note is listed after an ICD-10 code, does that mean you [...] - Reader Question:
Will Medicare Pay for Non-Covered Workers' Comp Visits?
Question: Thank you for your Q&A last month about workers’ compensation coding. I have a [...] - Reader Question:
Know the Region for Radiculopathy
Question: A patient presented to our ED with back pain, and the physician diagnosed her [...] - Reader Question:
Check 90689 for Flu Vaccines
Question: Our office manager heard that a new flu vaccine code will be coming out [...]
