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Urology Coding Alert

ICD-10:

Query Urologist for Urosepsis Clarification Before Coding

Published on Wed Apr 11, 2012

ICD-10 says urosepsis is "nonspecific" and thus, you won't find that terminology. If you receive a physician note with the term "urosepsis," you may find yourself grappling with the question -- is it a urinary tract infection (UTI) or a UTI with sepsis? Currently: In ICD-9 Codes, you have coding conventions to follow, which is to use 599.0 (Urinary tract infection, site not specified) for "urosepsis." According to ICD-9 guidelines, "The term urosepsis is a nonspecific term. If that is the only term documented then only code 599.0 should be assigned based on the default for the term in the ICD-9-CM index, in addition to the code for the causal organism if known." In the future: However, ICD-10 eliminates this term. The ICD-10-Manual includes a note to "code to condition," which means you must query the physician to determine the appropriate code assignment. Specifically, ICD-10 guidelines state: (ii) Urosepsis The term urosepsis [...]
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