Pediatric Coding Alert

Question: A patient came in for a well check. The pediatrician ordered a urinalysis, which came back abnormal. The child came back in the next day to repeat the test, which came back normal. For the second test's diagnosis, should I use V67.59 (Following other treatment; other) or V72.6 (Laboratory examination)? Coding 911.com Member Answer: Actually, you should use neither V67.59 nor V72.6. Instead, report day 1's abnormality -- for instance, hematuria (599.7x) or proteinuria (791.0) -- along with V67.9 (Unspecified follow-up examination). The abnormality-V67.9 combo indicates that this finding was found that prompted a recheck, in which the condition was no longer present. Some experts suggest using the V code alone, which although optimal coding, does not meet insurers' requirements for reporting the original problem. ICD-9 2010 indicates you can use V67.9 as either a primary or secondary code. Payers usually prefer that you first list the primary diagnosis -- for instance, [...]