Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

Hint: You won't always find a simple crosswalk between ICD-9 and ICD-10. When ICD-9 becomes ICD-10 in 2013, you will not always have a simple crosswalk relationship between old codes and the new ones. Often, you'll have more options that may require tweaking the way you document services and a coder reports it. Check out the following examples of how ICD-10 will change your coding options when the calendar turns to Oct. 1, 2013. Celebrate Sinusitis Codes' One-to-One Relationship for ICD-10 Right now: When your physician treats a patient for sinusitis, you should report the appropriate sinusitis code for sinus membrane lining inflammation. Use 461. x for acute sinusitis. For chronic sinusitis -- frequent or persistent infections lasting more than three months -- assign 473.x. For both acute and chronic conditions, you'll choose the fourth digit code based on where the sinusitis occurs. For example, for ethmoidal chronic sinusitis, you should report [...]