Wiki Acute sinusitis

[Sarahmk]

My providers have been using the J01.- dx (acute sinusitis) as of late. In the ICD-10 book, it states to also code the infectious agent with these codes. The problem is my providers do not know the infectious agent. I have been directing them to use J32.9 (sinusitis NOS) instead to avoid a coding headache. Any suggestions on use for this code? I had posted this on FB forum and was told that the infectious agent does not need to be coded if it is not known, but the issue is I need solid documentation to back that up if that is true because my auditor is telling me that I must code the infectious agent if I use those codes.
Thanks
Sarah

 

[mitchellde]

You cannot use a J32 code if the documentation states acute sinusitis. All J32 codes are for Chronic sinusitis. You do need an additional code and the provider will need to document either a bacterial or a viral involvment

 

[Sarahmk]

thank you! I appreciate your response