Pulmonology Coding Alert

Focusing on acute conditions, exacerbations can whip these claims into shape. Correctly reporting asthma, acute bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), obstructive bronchitis, and emphysema depends on the pulmonologist's documentation in the patient's medical record. Making sure the documentation supports the patient's diagnosis and that you code for any associated acute conditions will ensure that you're correctly reporting pulmonary diagnoses. Check for Manifestations When Choosing Asthma Code You can find all the asthma codes in the 493 category of the ICD-9 codes. Look to 493.2x for asthma with airflow limitation. Airflow limitation may occur in asthmatic patients with persistent disease or those patients with asthma of long duration. The three asthma codes with airflow limitation demonstrated by pulmonary function testing you'll choose from are: • 493.20 -- Chronic obstructive asthma; unspecified • 493.21 -- ... with status asthmaticus • 493.22 -- ... with (acute) exacerbation. COPD can be associated with asthma. When your physician [...]