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Primary Care Coding Alert

You Be the Coder:

Do You Know When Primary Can Be Secondary?

Published on Tue May 14, 2024

Question: Is it possible to code a secondary neoplasm as primary, or is a primary diagnosis always coded as such? California Subscriber Answer: While it may sound confusing, from a coding perspective, sometimes a secondary neoplasm (where the cancer has spread to, or metastasized) can be coded as a primary (principal or first-listed) diagnosis. Here’s why: When a treatment targets a cancerous [...]
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