ICD-10:
New 'J' Code Will Replace 034.0 for Strep Throat Dx Under ICD-10
Published on Mon Oct 29, 2012
Fortunately, however, coding choices for this condition won't expand dramatically.Your pediatric practice probably sees patients with symptoms of strep throat every day, and this common illness is marked by pain and redness in the throat, potential fever, and sometimes a rash.ICD-9 Coding Rules: When using the ICD-9-CM code set, you report 034.0 (Streptococcal sore throat) if the patient suffers from streptococcal sore throat. The ICD-9 manual also directs you to this code if the patient suffers from streptococcal tonsillitis.ICD-10 Changes: Effective Oct. 1, 2014, you won't have a simple catch-all code for streptococcal throat infections. Instead, ICD-10 will differentiate between streptococcal pharyngitis and streptocollal tonsillitis, as follows:J02.0 (Streptococcal pharyngitis) J03.00 (Acute streptococcal tonsillitis, unspecified)J03.01 (Acute recurrent streptococcal tonsillitis) Documentation: You should not report the strep throat diagnosis code unless your practice receives confirmation from a lab test (either rapid strep or throat culture) indicating that the patient tested positive for [...]
