Pathology/Lab Coding Alert

Some conditions change classification.Ready or not, here it comes. More changes came down the pike for ICD-10, just over a year before you'll need to implement the new code set in your lab.CMS recently posted the 2012 ICD-10 code update, which not only shows which codes were added, deleted, and revised this year, but also offers information on the new diagnosis coding system, which will be mandatory for all providers as of Oct. 1, 2013.Shift Code Family for SomeIn 2011, ICD-10 codes for hemorrhoids were found in the I84 category (Diseases of veins, lymphatic vessels, and lymph nodes, not elsewhere classified), which spanned from I84.0 (Thrombosed hemorrhoids) through I84.6 (Residual hemorrhoidal skin tags). Now, however, hemorrhoids are classified with "Diseases of the digestive system" (K00-K945), which is found in chapter 11 of ICD-10.You'll find the ICD-10 codes for hemorrhoids now assigned to codes K64.0 (First degree hemorrhoids) through K64.9 (Unspecified [...]