Coding:
Knock Out Diabetes Coding Confusion.
Published on Tue Aug 18, 2009
These four questions will clear your path to correct coding. Knowing how to code correctly for diabetes will save you time and could earn your agency case mix points. Follow these simple steps to make sure you're on the money: Question #1. Which type? Primary diabetes has two types: Type I and Type II. Type I is the more serious of the two because the patient's pancreas has completely stopped producing insulin, says Trish Twombly, director of coding with Foundation Management Services in Denton, Texas. Type II, on the other hand, is a metabolic condition. This type of diabetes begins with cells that have become resistant to insulin, rather than with a pancreas that isn't producing insulin. The cells just can't use the insulin properly, Twombly says. Terminology update: Type I used to be referred to as "insulin-dependent" diabetes, and Type II was called "non-insulin-dependent" diabetes. But these terms have [...]