Abortion Coding:
Complete or Incomplete? The Type of Abortion Makes All the Difference
Published on Mon Sep 05, 2011
Reviewed on May 20, 2015
If you report the wrong diagnosis code, you may lose reimbursement. If you label a nonelective abortion as "complete" or "incomplete," you may automatically establish your CPT® coding options for the ob-gyn's services, regardless of what he or she may have done. Generally, you will designate nonelective abortions at fewer than 22 weeks gestation as spontaneous incomplete (634.x1), spontaneous complete (634.x2) or missed (632). Although technological advances enable physicians to detect pregnancy in its earliest stages, coding for nonelective abortions has become more complicated. When a patient presents with no prior pregnancy diagnosis, the ob-gyn can use tools such as ultrasound and beta subunit HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin, a pregnancy test that helps determine the stage of pregnancy) to confirm pregnancy and decide how far it has progressed. When a patient presents with a nonelective abortion, diagnosis and procedural coding can be a [...]
