Advanced Search

Home Health ICD-9/ICD-10 Alert

CONQUERING CASE MIX:
You Can Code Muscle Weakness With Confidence
Secure maximum reimbursement when your care focuses on multiple aspects of an underlying d... Read more
CODING TIP:
Look To Length Of Stay When Coding Fatigue, Weakness For Cardiorespiratory Patients
Malaise and fatigue may be a precursor to muscle weakness. Coders often look to 780.79 (Ot... Read more
CODING UPDATE:
Get The Latest Details on the OASIS Chapter 8 Changes
Check M0245 to be sure you're using the most up-to-date version. Make sure you're keeping... Read more
READER QUESTION:
Look To Focus Of Care With Breast Cancer Patient
Question: How should I code for a patient with breast cancer who refuses a mastectomy and ... Read more
READER QUESTION:
Query Physician For Gastritis Specifics
Question: Our 80-year-old patient went to the hospital for help with abdominal pain. She w... Read more
READER QUESTION:
Try Acute Code For Anemia Due To Bleeding
Question: We are providing physical therapy and occupational therapy for a patient who fel... Read more
READER QUESTION:
Gain Points For Fracture Care
Question: Our patient was referred to us for rehabilitation for lack of coordination becau... Read more
READER QUESTION:
Look To Proximate Cause For MS Patient
Question: We have a patient who has had multiple sclerosis for 15 years. We see this patie... Read more
READER QUESTION:
Keep Coding Simple For Joint Revision
Question: We have a patient who has had multiple sclerosis for 15 years. We see this patie... Read more
YOU BE THE CODER:
Choose Aftercare Or Late Effect For Burn Patient?
Question: Our patient was burned extensively two years ago on her chest, arms and head. Sh... Read more
CONQUERING CASE MIX:
Here's How To Avoid Going Overboard Reporting Diabetic Manifestations
Assume a relationship between hypertension and chronic kidney disease. When caring for a d... Read more
CLIP 'N' SAVE:
Choose The Correct Diabetes Code Every Time By Asking These Key Questions
Fourth digit identifies presence and type of manifestation. When you're coding for diabete... Read more
CODING 101:
Fifth Digit Shouldn't Be The Last Thing On Your Mind
Saving time by leaving off that last digit will cost your agency in the end. Choose the fi... Read more
CODING QUIZ:
Code The Story Of Your Life
Can you code these milestones of a lifetime? It seems as if there's an ICD-9 code for eve... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Table Aftercare V Codes For Burns Without Surgery
Question: Can you help me find an aftercare code for a homebound patient who had second- a... Read more
READER QUESTION:
Choose The Right Fifth Digit For MI
Question: Which fifth digit should we use when reporting a myocardial infarction (MI)? Is ... Read more
READER QUESTION:
Document Abandoned Status For Dialysis Catheter
Question: Our agency is providing wound care for a patient who has chronic renal failure a... Read more
READER QUESTION:
Nix Nephropathy Code With Kidney Disease
Question: How should I code for a patient with diabetic nephropathy with hypertension and ... Read more
READER QUESTION:
It's OK To Repeat When Coding For Ulcers
Question: A patient has two pressure ulcers, one on her left heel and the other one on her... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Know Which Comes First With Ulcers, Osteomyelitis
Question: We have a patient with type II diabetes who fell and broke his hip. During his r... Read more
CODING UPDATE ~ Keep Your Coding Compliant With The Latest OASIS Changes And Answers
Clarification from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services may mean extra work fo... Read more
CODING NEWS ~ 2 OASIS Changes You Can Ignore
Don't change your forms yet. If you've been studying the recent OASIS changes, you may hav... Read more
CODING HOW-TO ~ Drop 998.83 For New Surgical Wounds
Absence of healing ridge no longer indicates nonhealing surgical wound. A change to wound ... Read more
CODING 101 ~ Hypertension and Comorbidities:
Know When It's Safe To Assume A Connection
Watch for October changes to hypertension's fifth digit. Problem: When coding for a patien... Read more
Get The Background On Hyperten-sive Heart And Chronic Kidney Disease
Hypertensive heart and chronic kidney disease is the most lethal form of hypertension, say... Read more
Reader Questions ~ Keep An Eye On TIA Documentation
Question: I have heard that we are not supposed to use transient ischemic attack (TIA) as ... Read more
Reader Questions ~ Find The Cause Before Coding Ulcer
Question: How do I code for a patient who has an ulcer on the back of his heel where ... Read more
Reader Questions ~ Get Specific In M0190 For THR
Question: Our patient was on our service before for aftercare of a total hip replacement (... Read more
Reader Questions ~ Know When Cellulitis Comes First
Question: We have a patient who has cellulitis of the foot with an open wound caused by sw... Read more
You Be the Coder ~ Garner Points For Hydrocephalus With M0245
Question: We are providing occupational therapy and physical therapy to address the patien... Read more
CODING HOW-TO:
EASE SYMPTOM CODING ACHES WITH NEW PAIN DIAGNOSIS CODES
New pain codes in M0240 can help support the need for additional therapy.You may be tempte... Read more
CODING UPDATE:
BOOST QUALITY, RISK ADJUSTMENT WITH NEW PAIN CODES
Make sure documentation supports your use of pain diagnosis.The new pain diagnosis codes m... Read more
CODING 101:
NAIL DOWN DIABETES CODING WITH 3 STEPS
Adult onset isn't always an accurate description of type II diabetes.If you're not using t... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Determine Cause Of Surgery For Correct Aftercare Code
Question: We have a patient whose lung cancer has metastasized to the bone, and as a resul... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Watch For Coverage Issues With Dialysis
Question: A patient just had an AV shunt placed for renal dialysis. She has been on dialys... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Clear Up Secondary-Code Confusion
Question: In your January issue, you gave a coding scenario in which V49.72 (Lower limb am... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Get Specifics Before Coding For Abscess
Question: We recently admitted a patient with a knee abscess. When I reviewed the records,... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Consider Rotator Cuff Tear Degenerative
Question: We have a patient who had a rotator cuff repair. He will be receiving nursing an... Read more
YOU BE THE CODER:
FIND THE RIGHT CODES FOR DVT PROPHYLAXIS
Question: How should I code to indicate that we are providing an anticoagulant for deep ve... Read more
Conquering Case Mix:
Expand Your Options For Reporting Encephalopathies, Hypertensive Kidney Disease
Thirteen new encephalopathy codes could earn your agency 20 neuro points. Effective Oct.1,... Read more
Coding Update:
Be prepared for the ICD-9 Update
Avoid the rush -- order your new coding manuals now.Don't wait for claims to be delayed or... Read more
Coding 101:
Stop Stumbling Over Symptoms And Improve Your Therapy Coding Accuracy
Hint: Code a symptom to avoid coding a disease or condition that has been resolved.Knowing... Read more
Did You Know?
According to the introduction to Chapter 16 of the ICD-9 coding manual, you should report ... Read more
Reader Questions:
Choose The Right Amputation Aftercare Code
Unless otherwise indicated, reader questions were answered by Lisa Selman-Holman, JD, BSN,... Read more
Reader Questions:
See Complications For Infected Knee Replacement Code
Question: We have a patient who had a joint replacement some time ago. He was referred to ... Read more
Reader Questions:
Mine This Vein For Stasis Ulcer Codes
Question: I'm confused about how to code for a stasis ulcer. How should my coding differ i... Read more
Reader Questions:
Sequence Diabetic Manifestations Correctly
Question: We have a patient who is receiving physical therapy only with no skilled nursing... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Clear Up The Coding For This Complicated Hip Prosthesis Patient
Question: We have a female patient admitted with an MRSA infected hip prosthesis and cellu... Read more
CONQUERING CASE MIX:
Choose The Right Weakness Diagnosis To Strengthen Therapy Coding
Don't list 728.2 for weakness following a brief hospitalization. Could your weakness codin... Read more
Coding 101:
Follow 3 Steps For Clean Infection Coding
With infected wounds, attention to dressings is assumed.When coding for an infection, one ... Read more
Coding How-To:
Know Location And Degree To Keep Your Cool With Burn Coding
Only report a V code if your patient has had surgery for his burns.Do you know which three... Read more
Reader Questions
Unless otherwise indicated, reader questions were answered by Lisa Selman-Holman, JD, BSN,... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Seize Case Mix Points For Subdural Hemorrhage
Question: Our patient had a seizure and suffered a traumatic subdural hemorrhage and contu... Read more
CONQUERING CASE MIX:
DON'T MAKE THESE 2 COMMON WOUND CODING MISTAKES
Let coding terminology guide you.Do you know when an open wound is not an open wound? You ... Read more
CODING 101:
PAY ATTENTION TO DRESSING CODE MISUSE
V58.3 will soon expand.You don't need a separate code to report every wound you dress.List... Read more
CODING COMPLIANCE:
RETHINK YOUR ADMISSION AUDIT STRATEGY TO SAVE TIME AND MONEY
Case conferences increase both your accuracy and your efficiency.Conducting admission audi... Read more
CODING UPDATE:
JUMPSTART YOUR ICD-10 TRANSITION WITH THESE POINTERS
More codes don't necessarily mean more work.If you're in ICD-10 denial, now's the time to ... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Avoid Sternal Osteomyelities Confusion
Question: I have a patient who has diabetes and a non-healing surgical wound with sternal ... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Know When It's Safe To Assume With Diabetes
Question: We have patients with diabetes and severe circulatory disorders such as peripher... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Look To Sprain Codes For Muscle Tear
Question: We received a referral for physical therapy. The patient has a right gluteus med... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Read Between The Parentheses
Question: If I look up a condition in the ICD-9-CM manual's index and the condition is fol... Read more
YOU BE THE CODER:
STEP UP TO THIS FOOT ULCER CODING CHALLENGE
Question: How should we code for a patient who has a diabetic foot ulcer with underlying a... Read more
CODING COMPLIANCE:
BUILD ACCURACY, SAVE TIME WITH THIS 4-STEP AUDIT PROCESS
Spend more time on billing audits, less on compliance, say experts.Conducting audits on 10... Read more
CODING HOW-TO:
AVOID UNDUE SCRUTINY BY KEEPING DIAGNOSES ACCURATE
A thorough billing audit process can save your agency time and money.The diagnoses you rep... Read more
CODING UPDATE:
BRACE YOURSELF FOR THESE DIABETES AND LONG-TERM DRUG USE CODING CHANGES
New dressing change codes will impact home health.October 1 may seem like a distant date, ... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Know When Gait Is Abnormal In M0245
Question: We see many patients for therapy and nursing who have had joint replacements sec... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Look To Cause Of Ulcer For Aftercare Codes
Question: Which surgical aftercare code should I use for a patient with a below knee amput... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Clear Up Septic Knee Coding Confusion
Question: Our patient had a traumatic injury to her knee a month ago. She had arthroscopic... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Gain Insight On Weighty Coding Issues
Question: What distinguishes "obesity" from "morbid obesity?" When is it appropriate to us... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Mind Your Digits When Coding For MI
Question: When a patient is receiving care for a myocardial infarction, 410.x (Acute myoca... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Focus On Focus Of Care For Knee Replacement
Question: Our 90-year-old patient had a total knee replacement (TKR), and went to rehab fo... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Break Through Fracture Coding Confusion
Question: We have admitted a Medicare home health patient, who has exhausted all auto insu... Read more
YOU BE THE CODER:
STRENGTHEN YOUR CVA CODING MUSCLES
Question: We have a patient who has right side weakness and frequent falls. We are providi... Read more
CODING 101:
WHY CODING DIRECTLY FROM THE ALPHABETIC INDEX ISN'T A GOOD IDEA
Only the tabular list can tell you what's included and excluded.Once you find your code in... Read more
CODING UPDATE:
GET THE LATEST SCOOP ON THE V57.X CHANGES
Don't report a V code when specific complication codes are available.Still uncertain you'v... Read more
CODING HOW-TO:
PUT AN END TO YOUR COPD CODING CONFUSION WITH THESE TACTICS
Follow these guidelines when you report COPD with an exacerbation.When you see a diagnosis... Read more
CODING SCENARIOS:
MASTER TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY CODING WITH THESE TEASERS
Know when not to report abnormality of gait.Coding for traumatic brain injuries can leave ... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Know When To Use Long-Term
Question: The new coding guidelines from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Choose Aftercare For Joint Replacement
Question: We have a lot of orthopedic patients. I have been reporting V57.1 for physical t... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Focus Of Care Comes First For Gastrostomy
Question: Our patient has a diagnosis of cancer of the esophagus and is on a gastrostomy t... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Get Specific With Fractures
Question: In your Dec. issue, "You Be The Coder," you suggested coding V54.13 for a patien... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Cut Out Excised Infection Code
Question: We are caring for a patient who had surgery to excise infected osteomyelitic bon... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Report Healing Fracture Without Surgery
Question: Our patient sustained a left distal femur fracture due to a fall. The fracture w... Read more
YOU BE THE CODER:
DON'T DRESS UP AFTERCARE CODES
Question: We have a patient who had a right pneumonectomy four months ago because of lung ... Read more
CODING 101:
THREE TIPS YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO MISS FOR SAFEGUARDING THERAPY CLAIMS
Case mix codes bring greater scrutiny, experts warn.Is your ICD-9 therapy coding audit pro... Read more
CODING HOW-TO:
QUICK FIX--REVISED CODING GUIDELINES RESULTED FROM V57.X CONFUSION
Use V57.89 for multiple therapies.If you've been using V57.x codes as if they were procedu... Read more
CONQUERING CASE MIX:
SOLVE YOUR TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY CODING HEADACHES
Time isn't the only factor to consider when looking at late effects codes.If coding for tr... Read more
CODING TIP:
CLEAR UP THIS CVA CODING CONFUSION
Severe brain injuries can cause conditions also caused by CVAs.Don't confuse CVA codes wit... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Match Polyneuropathy To Its Cause
Question: We have a patient with a diagnosis of "polyneuropathy of the extremities due to ... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Score Points With Manifestations
Question: Our OASIS/PPS Summary Sheet shows that a neurological diagnosis on M0240 would g... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Get To The Core Of Coding For Cured Conditions
Question: When a patient has a condition which is corrected, we all understand that we use... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Take Heart When Listing V Codes
Question: Should we code using just V codes? For example, our patient had an aortic valve ... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Know How Much Information To Give For Aftercare
Question: We are providing aftercare for a neoplasm to a patient who also has hypertension... Read more
YOU BE THE CODER:
DON'T LET AMPUTATION CODING BREAK YOUR STRIDE
Question: We have a patient who had a below knee amputation (BKA) for peripheral vascular ... Read more
CODING HOW-TO:
TURN THE TABLE ON THERAPY CODING WITH NEW OFFICIAL CODING GUIDELINES
Look for V57.89 to become more popular.News that you can no longer list some old favorite ... Read more
CODING UPDATE:
YOUR V57.x CODING QUESTIONS ANSWERED
V57.x as secondary won't result in denied claims. Still scratching your head over the new ... Read more
CODING CHANGES:
DON'T RISK SCRUTINY OF LONG-TERM DRUG USE CLAIMS
RHHI questions medical necessity when V58.69 listed as primary.If you're still reporting V... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Report Late Effects After A Break In Service
Question: We have a patient who was admitted to home care due to a cerebrovascular acciden... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Time Doesn't Heal All Wounds
Question: Our patient has been recertified after 60 days due to a surgical wound not heali... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Take The Pain Out Of Fracture Coding
Question: I have a patient with a traumatic hip fracture. Skilled nursing has been ordered... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Fracture This Compression Assumption
Question: How should we code a compression fracture of the spine the patient sustained whe... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Bypass M0245 For Surgery Patient
Question: We have a patient with a long history of hypertension who just had coronary arte... Read more
You Be the Coder:
DON'T GET WOUND UP OVER TRAUMA
Question: We are providing daily wound care to a patient who fell and hit her shin on a co... Read more
CONQUERING CASE MIX:
HERE'S HOW TO MASTER OSTEOMYELITIS CODING
With diabetic patients, assume osteomyelitis is a manifestation.If you're not coding osteo... Read more
Conquering Case Mix:
GET THE BACKGROUND ON OSTEOMYELITIS
Osteomyelitis is a bone infection that is usually caused by one of a variety of microbial ... Read more
CODING HOW-TO:
AVOID DIABETES DENIALS AND IMPROVE YOUR BOTTOM LINE
Reporting diabetes in M0245 will give your agency 17 case mix points.If you code diabetes ... Read more
CODING TIP:
KNOW WHEN DIABETES COMES SECOND ON YOUR FIRST VISIT
You may be providing care to a patient in part because of their diabetes, but the main foc... Read more
CODING 101:
SLEUTH OUT CORRECT CODES QUICKLY WITH THESE TIPS
Risk coding errors if you ignore subterms.Searching the index like you do a dictionary cou... Read more
NEWS FLASH:
NEW V CODE GUIDELINES IMPACT HOME HEALTH
If you're still reporting V57.x as a secondary diagnosis, you could be jeopardizing your t... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Does Home Health Equal Bedbound?
Question: When should we use the new V code V49.84? It seems like this would be appropriat... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
What's Primary For Debridement?
Question: We have a patient who had a gastric bypass for the treatment of obesity, diabete... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Post-Amputation Coding Can Bring You To Your Knees
Question: Our patient has had his right leg amputated below the knee due to peripheral vas... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Don't Let I&D Coding Drain You
Question: We have a patient with cellulitis of the foot. Her walker fell over and hit the ... Read more
READER QUESTIONS:
Do Renal Manifestations Still Exist After Transplant?
Question: Our patient is recovering from a kidney transplant for chronic renal failure due... Read more
YOU BE THE CODER:
DAZED BY CONFUSION CODING?
Question: We have a patient who has been experiencing vertigo and confusion. Home health h... Read more
Available Years:  2006  2005  2004