ICD-10:
Add 'Excess Calories' to Obesity Documentation
Published on Wed Sep 12, 2012
Don't confuse 'other' with 'unspecified.' Although coding morbid obesity won't tell the whole "medical necessity" story for lap-band procedures (see "Don't Count on Obesity for Medical Necessity,"General Surgery Coding Alert Vol. 14, No. 8), you'll need to know how to report the condition once ICD-10 is implemented. The latest: CMS has finalized the ICD-10 implementation date for Oct. 1, 2014, as stated in the Sept. 5 Federal Register. The announcement ended months of speculation that began in April when CMS proposed delaying the original Oct. 1, 2013 implementation date.Distinguish Additional Obesity DataYou'll find a direct crosswalk from ICD-9 (278.01, Morbid obesity) to ICD-10 (E66.01, Morbid [severe] obesity due to excess calories). But you can see that ICD-10 provides some additional clinical information about the condition's cause. You should look for physician documentation about caloric intake to help distinguish E66.01 from other obesity causes such as the following:E66.1 -- Drug-induced obesity (which [...]