Primary Care Coding Alert

Heads up: Single ICD-9 code transforms to ten codes in ICD-10. You'll face big changes in reporting acute bronchitis when ICD-10 goes into effect, including needing to focus more on what causes the condition. Read on for everything you'll need to know about successfully coding each patient's circumstances. Prepare for Additional Options Currently, ICD-9 lists only a single code for acute bronchitis: 466.0. You report 466.0 for any case of acute bronchitis with no concern for etiology, unless the patient has acute bronchitis with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, in which case you report 491.22. ICD-10 expansion: When ICD-9 shifts to ICD-10, you'll begin your code search with J20.- (Acute bronchitis). Then you'll drill down to a more specific code that describes the etiology. Your ten new choices will be: J20.0 (Acute bronchitis due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae) J20.1 (Acute bronchitis due to Hemophilus influenzae) J20.2 (Acute bronchitis due to streptococcus) J20.3 (Acute [...]