Procedure Practice 10/15/99 - Feature Article 10/15/99
   

Procedure Practice 10/15/99:
Coding Recommendations

  
Listed below are the ICD-9-CM diagnosis and procedure codes as well as the CPT-4 procedure codes that we think properly classify the treatment described. Please note that modifiers, used only for physician billing purposes, have not been assigned to the CPT-4 codes. If you disagree with our suggestions or have other comments, please send an e-mail to  codingedge@lagunamedsys.com.
   

Suggested Codes and Rationale
     

Diagnosis Codes

The principal diagnosis is submucous leiomyoma of the uterus. Additional diagnoses include acute blood loss anemia, orthostatic hypotension, hypertension, and asthma, and tubal ligation status. Although the summary does not state that the surgical blood loss was a complication, the coder may want to consult the surgeon to determine if blood loss was excessive or a complicating factor in this case. The correct codes and their narratives are listed below along with the alphabetic index heading under which the codes may be located:
  

Procedure Codes

The patient underwent a total vaginal hysterectomy and received two units of packed cells for her anemia. The correct codes, their narratives, and the alphabetic index heading under which the codes are found are:

Procedure Practice 10/15/99 - Feature Article 10/15/99