Outpatient Facility Coding Alert
Don't Worry About Legalization for Marijuana Use with Pregnancy
Question: I’ve been told that there is a new guideline on reporting for patients who are using drugs or prescription pills during pregnancy. How would you code a pregnant patient at 24 weeks that is actively using marijuana? Colorado Subscriber Answer: Previously, the ICD-10-CM guidelines only instructed coders on how to report patient encounters for tobacco use and alcohol use during pregnancy. Included in the 2019 guidelines is a set of instructions on how to report “drug use during pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium.” In Chapter 15 of Section 1.C of the ICD-10-CM, the new set of guidelines state the following: This guideline instructs you report a code from category O99.32- (Drug use complicating pregnancy, childbirth, and the puerperium) during any instance where a patient encounter involves pregnancy with illicit substance use. For any manifestations of the drug use, you should report a code from one of the F categories listed above. The question regarding marijuana use during pregnancy becomes problematic due to the varying legality of marijuana use from state-to-state. In order to determine whether marijuana is applicable to this new guideline, you must have a proper understanding of what constitutes a “drug.” According to Stedman’s Medical Dictionary, a drug is a “general term for any substance, stimulating or depressing, that can be habituating or addictive, especially a narcotic.” Currently, marijuana remains a schedule 1 narcotic under federal law. Therefore, you should classify marijuana as a drug, and code accordingly when you encounter a patient actively using during pregnancy.
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Don't Worry About Legalization for Marijuana Use with Pregnancy
Question: I’ve been told that there is a new guideline on reporting for patients who [...]
