The ICD-10 implementation is not far away and coding orthopedics can get tougher in the coming year. Under ICD-10 the code choices for a few procedures will expand for instance, ligament disorders, palmar fascia contracture, foreign body granulomas, and muscle spasm. Here are some tips and tactics to ensure hassle free coding for connective tissue conditions.
Firstly, timely training will ensure that everyone including coders, billers and physicians are updated on all the latest codes to avoid coding errors.
Secondly, ICD-9 diagnosis codes for some muscle disorders like 728.3 will diversify into two codes in ICD-10: M62.3 and M62.89. Another example is the ICD-9 diagnosis codes for fibrosis in muscle ligaments, 728.79 will be M72.1 and M72.4 in ICD-10.
Also the ligament disorder code in ICD-10 will be more generic to accommodate a variety of disorders. The ICD-10 code category M24.2 will be used in this context replacing the ICD-9 code 728.4.
Coders can be highly specific in coding orthopedics reporting the actual tissue affected under ICD-10. In ICD-10, to report disorders of muscle there will a code M62.9. ICD-10 has listed a code specific to the muscle and disorder of ligament.
Apart from all the changes, there are certain codes as well as descriptions that have not undergone any change. For instance, the descriptors for 728.5 in ICD-9 and M35.7 in ICD-10 will remain the same. Also, code 728.71 in ICD-9 and code M72.2 in ICD-10 for the fibrosis of the plantar fascia has not undergone any changes.
Another significant change that ensures awareness is while reporting “urosepsis” as it needs to be specified if it is a urinary tract infection (UTI) or a UTI with sepsis. According to ICD-9 guidelines the term urosepsis is a nonspecific term and the code 599.0 is assigned. But this term has been removed in ICD-10. More specific documentation to report this condition will be necessary.
