Ob-Gyn Coding Alert
Solve This Surrogate Patient Situation
Question: Would you help me find a diagnosis code for a gestational carrier/surrogate? These patients are not infertility patients, but they agree to carry the pregnancy for an infertility patient (surrogate). Is there a more specific code to report other than V26.89 for other procreative management? Texas Subscriber Answer: You-ll use V26.89 (Other specified procreative management) only for actual management. If this is the insemination visit, then that is the diagnosis. Remember: Being a surrogate is not a disease condition.-The fact that this patient is pregnant is the reason the ob-gyn is seeing her. That she is a surrogate has no bearing on her care for the pregnancy.-If you are coding for managing the pregnancy, use the usual codes.- If you are counseling the couple about using a surrogate or counseling a surrogate about becoming pregnant, you can use V26.49 (Other procreative management, counseling and advice).- -- The answers for Reader Questions and You Be the Coder were provided by Melanie Witt, RN, CPC-OGS, MA, an ob-gyn coding expert based in Guadalupita, N.M.
Ob-Gyn Coding Alert
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3 Tips Power Up Your Pessary Coding
Find out if the ob-gyn did a refitting at the time of an insertion If [...] - Remind MD to Fully Describe Pessary Conditions
Fight undercoding for pessary visits using this tried-and-true idea Good advice: Remember to fully document [...] - You Be the Coder:
Vaginal Hysterectomy With LSO and Colpopexy
Question: My ob-gyn completed a vaginal hysterectomy of a uterus that was less than 250 [...] - Reader Questions:
Clarify How You Report 93976
Question: My ob-gyn's documentation states, "I turned on the Color Doppler button to ensure the [...] - Reader Questions:
Abortion Short of 20 Weeks? Look to E/M Codes
Question: A 19.5-week pregnant patient arrived in the emergency department with bleeding and cramping.-She had [...] - Reader Questions:
Get to the Bottom of the Different Edits
Question: I follow Correct Coding Initiative (CCI) edits, but some insurers don't follow these guidelines. [...] - Reader Questions:
New Physician Doesn't Mean New Patient
Question: We have a new ob-gyn in our group whose patients from his previous group [...] - Reader Questions:
Figure Out These Fem Test Points
Question: Can I give two points for "independent visualization of specimen" toward an E/M level [...] - Reader Questions:
Solve This Surrogate Patient Situation
Question: Would you help me find a diagnosis code for a gestational carrier/surrogate? These patients [...]
