Wiki 530.11 vs 530.81

[KJenkins588]

My three gastro providers are telling me that these codes are pretty much the same thing. True? My reasoning is that if there are two different codes then they ARE different and not that same. I am auditing them and trying to educate that what they document and what they are using for dx codes are not matching up and finding the problem the most with these two codes.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[JenReyn99]

In the extended ICD-9 description for both of these codes, there is a definition. For 530.11, the definition is "Inflammation of lower esophagus; due to regurgitated gastric acid. For 530.81, the definition is "Regurgitation of the gastric contents into esophagus and possibly pharynx". So my take is that the GERD dx is the actual regurgitation problem, and the 530.11 is what happens when you have this happen all the time; the after affects. I hope that helps!