ICD 10 Coding Alert

Male and female breast dx collapse to one family.You're used to choosing codes from separate ICD-9 families for breast neoplasms depending on patient gender -- but ICD-10 will change all that.Know ICD-9 FamiliesYou need to know two code families for breast cancer under ICD-9, based on sex.For female patients you use 174.x (Malignant neoplasm of female breast), and your fourth digit options relate to anatomic location:174.0 -- ... nipple and areola174.1 -- ... central portion174.2 -- ... upper-inner quadrant174.3 -- ... lower-inner quadrant174.4 -- ... upper-outer quadrant174.5 -- ... lower-outer quadrant174.6 -- ... axillary tail174.8 -- ... other specified sites of female breast 174.9 -- ... breast (female), unspecified.For male patients, you use 175.x (Male neoplasm of male breast). The fourth digit again relates to anatomic site, but the list is much shorter:175.0 -- ...nipple and areola175.9 -- ... other and unspecified sites of male breast.ICD-9 instructions for both 174.x and 175.x tell you to report an additional code to identify the [...]