Internal Medicine Coding Alert

Question: Under what circumstance should I use the diagnosis code V72.40?


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Answer: You can only use the new code V72.40 (Pregnancy examination or test, pregnancy unconfirmed) when, at the end of the visit, the internist can't confirm whether a patient is pregnant.

For example, if the nurse draws a blood specimen and orders a serum HCG to confirm pregnancy, you would not have the results back at the end of the visit.

If the internist or nurse performs a urine color test with a positive result, then according to the official ICD-9 guidelines your diagnosis would be V22.0 (Supervision of normal first pregnancy) or V22.1 (Supervision of other normal pregnancy).

Why? You must code what you know at the end of the visit.

Answers for You Be the Coder and Reader Questions were answered by Kathy Pride, CPC, CCS-P, a coding consultant for QuadraMed in Port St. Lucie, Fla.; and Bruce Rappoport, MD, CPC, a board-certified internist who works with physicians on compliance, documentation, coding and quality issues for Rachlin, Cohen & Holtz LLP, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based accounting firm with healthcare expertise.