Pathology/Lab Coding Alert

Here's what you should look for in physician's documentation.

When ICD-9 becomes ICD-10 in 2013, you might have a simple one-to-one relationship between old codes and the new ones -- but not always. Even with a simple crosswalk, you'll need to get familiar with different sections in the new diagnosis code system.

Check out this bladder cancer diagnosis and discover what you'll report after October 1, 2013.

When your pathologist receives a urinary bladder specimen and diagnoses malignant cancer, the last digit of the diagnosis will hinge on the surgeon's documentation of the biopsy or resection location. Look to these code choices for ICD-9 and the one-toone crosswalk for ICD-10:

Coder tips: Whether ICD-9 or ICD-10, you'll need to assign the final digit of a bladder cancer diagnosis based on "location." You can use this example to start getting familiar with changes you'll need to implement in 2013. Malignant neoplasms are in sections 140-209 for ICD-9 and in sections C00-D94 for ICD-10.