Orthopedic Coding Alert

Make sure you know the laterality with ICD-10. Non-remitting backache is a common complaint for patients presenting for orthopedic treatment, so understanding how to report these diagnoses in ICD-10 will be especially important. Tip: You will need to be very selective and specific for the right or left side when reporting lumbago and sciatica. Review the ICD-9 Codes Presently, ICD-9-CM has codes 724.2 (Lumbago) and 724.3 (Sciatica) for lumbago and sciatica. "There is also 724.5 (Backache unspecified ) for nonspecific backache," says Heidi Stout, BA, CPC, COSC, PCS, CCS-P, Coder on Call, Inc., Milltown, New Jersey and orthopedic coding division director, The Coding Network, LLC, Beverly Hills, CA. Neither of the codes specifies what side the patient's pain is on, so you report the same codes for both right- and left-sided conditions. Mark These ICD-10 Changes Interestingly, ICD-10 includes low back pain, sciatica, and a third condition that combines the [...]