Urology Coding Alert

Make sure your urologist is starting to put the details in his documentation now.

When your urologist sees a patient for infertility and he documents that the patient has azoospermia, you have just one code to look at in ICD-9 Codes : 606.0 (Azoospermia). But when ICD-10 Codes goes into effect on Oct. 1, 2013, you will have three to choose from and you may need a secondary code as well.

Lay term: Azoospermia is the absence of any sperm in the semen. There are two types: Non-obstructive azoospermia which usually results from absent intratesticular sperm production. Obstructive azoospermia, as the term suggests, is caused by extratesticular obstruction or blockage of the normal pathway through which sperm are delivered into the ejaculate. Obstructions may occur at the efferent ductules of the epididymis or in the vasa deferens.

ICD-10 difference: In ICD-10 you'll need to know the cause of the patient's azoospermia before you can choose the proper diagnosis code. The azoospermia codes are found in  the N46 (Male infertility) section as follows:

• N46.0 -- Azoospermia
• N46.01 -- Organic azoospermia
• N46.02 -- Azoospermia due to extratesticular causes.

When you report N46.02, you'll also need to code the associated cause using one of the following:

• N46.021 -- Azoospermia due to drug therapy
• N46.022 -- ... due to infection
• N46.023 -- ... due to obstruction of efferent ducts
• N46.024 -- ... due to radiation
• N46.025 -- ... due to systemic disease
• N46.029 -- ... due to other extratesticular causes.

Physician documentation: Your urologist will need to identify the type of azoospermia, citing the pathological and/or anatomical cause of the condition. Encourage your physician to start now so that you're not faced with coding delays come October 2013.