Ob-Gyn Coding Alert

Question: I’m new to ob-gyn coding. What constitutes a post term pregnancy, and how should I report it?

Texas Subscriber

Answer:  Patients whose pregnancies last longer than 40 weeks gestation are either labeled “post term pregnancies” (40-42 weeks) or “prolonged pregnancies” (over 42 weeks).

In other words, you should report O48.0 when the physician documents the patient’s pregnancy is over 40-42 weeks completed gestation (that is, 40 weeks 1 day to 42 weeks 0 days). You should report O48.1 when the physician documents the patient’s pregnancy has advanced over 42 weeks of completed gestation (42 weeks 1 day or longer).

For these pregnancies, you have the following diagnosis codes:

• O48.0 (Post-term pregnancy)
• O48.1 (Prolonged pregnancy)

But remember that you must also report a Z3A diagnosis that indicates the week of gestation on the date you report her late pregnancy.