SuzyRoberts44
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When a provider documents multiple types of senile cataract (nuclear 366.16, cortical 366.15, posterior subcapsular polar 366.14), would you code for each type, or would you use code 366.19, other and combined forms of senile cataract?
For the record, our auditor tells me it is correct to use a code for each different type of cataract because the codes are most specific. I was choosing 366.19 (as were a few of our providers, but not all). My rationale was that "combined" was best to describe the patient's condition and was more concise, in the same way that 474.02 (chronic tonsillitis AND adenoiditis) is the correct choice, instead of coding the two conditions separately, 474.00, 474.01.
For the record, our auditor tells me it is correct to use a code for each different type of cataract because the codes are most specific. I was choosing 366.19 (as were a few of our providers, but not all). My rationale was that "combined" was best to describe the patient's condition and was more concise, in the same way that 474.02 (chronic tonsillitis AND adenoiditis) is the correct choice, instead of coding the two conditions separately, 474.00, 474.01.