Tuesday, July 19, 2011

ICD-10 Prep: Get to Know How Eye Infection, Strep Diagnoses Will Change in 2013

Hint: Your diagnosis coding will depend on which eye was infected once ICD-10 hits.

When ICD-9 becomes ICD-10 in 2013, you'll have to be prepared for changes across the board when it comes to diagnosis coding. Often, you'll have more options that may require tweaking the way you document services and a coder reports it. Check out the following examples of how ICD-10 will change your coding options when the calendar turns to Oct. 1, 2013.

Nail Down These Upcoming Eye Infection Coding Changes

Conjunctivitis is an eye infection that can affect patients of all ages, and your practice is probably familiar with the signs and symptoms of this condition. But, like all other conditions, conjunctivitis will fall under new codes under ICD-10.

You currently have several coding options for conjunctivitis, depending on the type of condition that the physician treats. The following is a sampling of ICD-9 codes that most practices use:




  • 372.00 (Acute conjunctivitis, unspecified)
  • 372.01 (Serous conjunctivitis, except viral)
  • 372.05 (Acute atopic conjunctivitis)
  • 372.10 (Chronic conjunctivitis, unspecified)
  • 372.11 (Simple chronic conjunctivitis)
  • 372.30 (Conjunctivitis, unspecified)


  • ICD-10 Changes:
    Under ICD-10, you'll have to not only denote the specific type of conjunctivitis by using the accurate diagnosis code, but you'll also have to indicate which eye was affected. The following is a sampling of ICD-10 codes that will affect pediatricians under the new coding system.





  • H10.10 (Acute atopic conjunctivitis, unspecified eye)
  • H10.11 (Acute atopic conjunctivitis, right eye)
  • H10.12 (Acute atopic conjunctivitis, left eye)
  • H10.13 (Acute atopic conjunctivitis, bilateral)
  • H10.2x (Serous conjunctivitis, except viral)
  • H10.3x (Unspecified acute conjunctivitis)
  • H10.40x (Unspecified chronic conjunctivitis)
  • H10.9 (Unspecified conjunctivitis)


  • The "x" designations above show where you'll input an additional digit to denote the affected eye. As shown in the H10.10-H10.13 range above, you will have options for the left eye, right eye, bilateral, or unspecified in most categories under ICD-10.

    Article Source :- http://www.supercoder.com/coding-newsletters/my-part-b-coding-alert/icd-10-prep-get-to-know-how-eye-infection-strep-diagnoses-will-change-in-2013-article

    No comments:

    Post a Comment