Estrogen Receptor Status:
3 Questions Clarify V86.0 Use for Current Breast Cancer Coding Success
Published on Tue May 25, 2010
Learn which code you should add for patients on tamoxifen therapy.Skipping secondary ICD-9 codes can be tempting, but properly reporting estrogen receptor status is a quick way to add support to your breast cancer patients' claims. Shore up your V86.x coding skills with the answers to three key questions.Important: These questions and answers relate to patients being treated for breast cancer that is currently present, not for patients on prophylactic regimens.1. What Do ER+ and ER- Refer To?The following codes describe estrogen receptor status:V86.0 -- Estrogen receptor positive status [ER+]V86.1 -- Estrogen receptor negative status [ER-].When a neoplasm is ER+, estrogen is fueling the cancer and causing it to grow. As a result, ER+ cancer should respond to hormone therapy. ER- cancers won't respond as well to hormone therapy. So ER status is important information for the oncologist when making treatment decisions.Treatments: Hormone therapies that V86.0 may help support include the following: [...]