Primary Care Coding Alert

Let these answers guide you to flawless HIV coding.

There's good news and bad news regarding the current state of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic in the US. The good news? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that cases of new HIV infections in the US decreased by 10 percent between 2010 and 2014.

The bad news? By the end of 2015, of the estimated 1.1 million Americans that were HIV positive, fully 15 percent of them had not been formally diagnosed (Source: https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/statistics/overview/ataglance.html).

Sounds like it's time for an HIV diagnosis coding refresher. Answer these three questions, then compare your answer to those of our experts.

Question1:
What is the correct code to use for a patient who has HIV?

Question 2:
Once a patient has been diagnosed with HIV, what is the correct code sequence when the patient is seen for other conditions?

Question 3:
What is the appropriate diagnosis code(s) for a woman who is pregnant, who is giving birth, or who has given birth, and who has been diagnosed with HIV?

Think you know the answers?