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Radiology Coding Alert

Reader Questions:

Include Organ Failure in Pre-Transplant Coding

Published on Sun Feb 11, 2007

Question: Which ICD-9 code should I use when we perform a screening chest x-ray prior to a heart transplant for a patient with myocardial degeneration? Massachusetts Subscriber Answer: You should report V72.83 (Other specified preoperative examination) for your primary diagnosis. Also include the organ failure as a secondary diagnosis code for the recipient. For your patient, report 429.1 (Myocardial degeneration). Watch for: You should report "other specified" code V72.83 for the preoperative chest x-ray because it provides an evaluation of both the respiratory and the cardiovascular system. Tip: In organ transplantation that uses organs or portions of organs from living donors, the donor may also undergo imaging preoperative tests. You should not report the recipient's organ failure on the donor's claim. -- The answers for You Be the Coder and Reader Questions were reviewed by Jackie Miller, RHIA, CPC, senior consultant with Coding Strategies Inc. in Powder Springs, Ga.
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