Neurosurgery Coding Alert

Bone Up on Dx Changes for Intracerebral Hemorrhage

ICD-10 implementation is coming in 2013 and it's not too early to learn what those changes will mean for your commonly-coded diagnoses.

If you're reporting 61312(Craniectomy or craniotomy for evacuation of hematoma, supratentorial; extradural or subdural), you may be using a diagnosis of intracerebral hemorrhage to help support the code on your claims. Here's what intracerebral hemorrhages will look like in ICD-10, versus ICD-9:

Current code: 431 (Intracerebral hemorrhages)

ICD-10 changes: 161.9 (Nontraumatic intracerebral hemorrhage, unspecified)