General Surgery Coding Alert

Don’t forget bleeding indication.

If your surgeon performed procedures today that led to a diagnosis of colon and small intestine bleeding diverticulosis, would you know how to report the findings?

Even if you can answer “yes” to that question, will you know how to report the same findings once ICD-10 goes into effect on Oct. 1? Read on to see what details you’ll need to know — now and then — to choose the proper diagnosis codes.

Choose 2 Codes in ICD-9

Under ICD-9, you have the following four codes to choose from:

• 562.00 (Diverticulosis of small intestine [without hemorrhage])
• 562.02 (... with hemorrhage)
• 562.10 (Diverticulosis of colon [without hemorrhage])
• 562.12 (... with hemorrhage)

In this scenario, because the surgeon identifies bleeding diverticulosis of both the small and large intestine, you’ll need to report both 562.02 and 562.12.

ICD-10 is Different

Unlike ICD-9, in ICD-10 you’ll find a single code that describes bleeding diverticulosis for both the small intestine and colon: K57.51 (Diverticulosis of both small and large intestine without perforation or abscess with bleeding).

Notice: In addition to providing different codes based on whether the surgeon notes hemorrhage with the diverticulosis, ICD-10 also provides different codes based on whether the surgeon notes perforation or abscess. ICD-9 doesn’t include that distinction.

Exclude These Conditions

Instead of using the codes listed above, both ICD-9 and ICD-10 instruct you to select different codes for the following diverticulum conditions:

• Congenital diverticulum of colon — ICD-9, 751.5; ICD-10, Q43.8
• Diverticulum of appendix — ICD-9, 543.9; ICD-10, K38.2
• Meckel’s diverticulum — ICD-9, 751.0; ICD-10, Q43.0