Otolaryngology Coding Alert

Report a condition like OSA only after sleep testing. When your physician reports "organic sleep apnea," it means he identified a specific cause of the sleep apnea. For example, when the ENT determines that excessive weight pressing on the patient's ribs and lungs is causing the sleep apnea, you would report 327.23 (Obstructive sleep apnea [adult] [pediatric]). Sleep apnea can be caused by either complete obstruction of the airway (obstructive apnea) or partial obstruction (obstructive hypopnea -- slow, shallow breathing), both of which can wake one up. There are three types of sleep apnea -- obstructive, central, and mixed. Of these, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common. Until a few years ago, the only relevant codes for obstructive sleep apnea were 780.51 (Insomnia with sleep apnea), 780.53 (Hypersomnia with sleep apnea), and 780.57 (Other and unspecified sleep apnea). Many ENTs "would simply use 780.57 automatically, so as not to have [...]