Wiki Chronic stable illness-joint replacement

[grandcanyongirl22@gmail.com]

Looking for some advice on this question. Would a total joint replacement fall under a chronic illness? This surgery was complete to remove the OA which is a chronic illness however, now the total joint components are with the patient for the foreseeable future (greater than one year). The components could cause issues months or years down the road. I have been placing joint replacement patients under level 3 (complexity) on the MDM grid. Please correct me if I am wrong, my current team is split on this topic. Thanks!

 

[amyjph]

Probably, but if the patient is being seen for an infection of a total joint it would become acute. Or if they have a fracture of the bones around the component. I don't think you can look at it as an all or nothing when they have a prosthesis in place. It depends on the reason for the visit and the documentation. It is an encounter based question.