Question: A patient comes for a prothrombin time test, and the ordering physician states that the test is to monitor the patient's Coumadin response, and the patient's underlying condition is atrial fibrillation. How should I assign diagnosis code(s) for this scenario? Answer: First code the reason for the encounter, which is V58.83 (Encounter for therapeutic drug monitoring). ICD-9-CM instructs you to "Use additional code for any associated long-term (current) drug use." In the case of Coumadin, you should report V58.61 (Long-term [current] use of anticoagulants). Finally, you should report the underlying condition, which in this case is 427.31 (Atrial fibrillation).
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Had the physician not mentioned the underlying condition, simply reporting V58.83 and V58.61 would be adequate. Code V58.61 is a listed diagnosis that indicates medical necessity for prothrombin time (85610, Prothrombin time), according to the National Coverage Determination for that test.