Eli's Rehab Report

You have until Oct.1 to implement the new diagnosis code changes

Coders, take notice: At midnight on Sept. 30, you'll have to remove one set of decubitus ulcer ICD-9 codes and implement another.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and CMS have unveiled their new 2005 ICD9 Codes , and because payers do not allow a grace period for the new codes, you should update your superbills by Sept. 30.

Although the new codes won't dramatically change the way physiatrists submit claims, says Gregory Mulford, MD, medical director at Atlantic Rehabilitation Services and chairman of rehabilitation medicine at Morristown Memorial Hospital in New Jersey, the following new codes will have the most relevance to PM&R practices.

"Decubitus ulcers include any chronic ulcer of the skin, including bedsores, plaster ulcers, and pressure ulcers," says Mary J. Brown, CPC, CMA, coding specialist at OrthoWest PC, a seven-physician practice in Omaha, Neb. Foot and ankle specialists and orthopedic surgeons may use these codes for chronic or non-healing skin ulcers that can occur from casts rubbing a patient's skin or prolonged periods of bed rest, Brown says.

"The code that you would use now is 707.0 (Decubitus ulcer), which is a generalized decubitus ulcer code," Brown says. "However, it appears that this code range (707.00-707.09, see below for definitions) will now require a fifth digit to specify the location of the decubitus ulcer." The new bedsore codes follow: