Oncology & Hematology Coding Alert

Immunotherapy finds a similarly clear counterpart in the new code set.The ICD-9-CM code for a chemotherapy encounter, V58.11, may be one of your most used codes. But when ICD-10-CM becomes your new diagnosis code set in 2013, you'll have a new top code. Here are a few tips to help ease the way.ICD-9-CM: Under ICD-9-CM 2012, your first-listed code when a patient presents solely for antineoplastic chemotherapy is V58.11 (Encounter for antineoplastic chemotherapy).You choose a different code to indicate a visit for antineoplastic immunotherapy: V58.12 (Encounter for immunotherapy for neoplastic condition).ICD-10-CM: The 2012 ICD-10-CM code set replaces V58.11 with Z51.11 (Encounter for antineoplastic chemotherapy).The code that crosses to immunotherapy code V58.12 is Z51.12 (Encounter for antineoplastic immunotherapy).Coder tip: Under both ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM official guidelines, you should report the code for the neoplasm being treated following the encounter code. Both sets also include an instruction that you should not use [...]