Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

Is 'unspecified' your go-to code? If so, you'll need to double-check your choices starting in October. Lower extremity embolism codes got a facelift in 2005, and upper extremity coding will be playing catch up in 2010. But to keep things consistent, the lower extremity codes will be seeing updates, too, with new concepts such as acute and chronic options. Check it out: CMS has offered a sneak peak at the added, deleted, and revised codes you'll need to know when ICD-9 2010 goes into effect Oct. 1, 2009 -- and if cases involving extremity embolisms regularly cross your desk, you're better be prepared. Clue in to Why 453.x Wins the Popularity Contest In 2009, your diagnosis options fall in two code families: 451.0-451.9 (Phlebitis and thrombophlebitis) and 453.0-453.9 (Other venous embolism and thrombosis). But those aren't necessarily the most clear-cut choices. Problem: "Thrombophlebitis is a term that is now rarely used, [...]