Having trouble getting to the proper ICD 9 diagnosis code for blurred vision? That should not be a problem if you know the reason behind the blurred vision.
A person complains of blurred vision and visits an eye-care specialist. But when a patient comes with hazy, generalized complaints, say for instance blurry vision, dry eyes, and the like – coders find it difficult to report these. ICD-9 codes that describe blurred vision specifically and similar diagnoses that relate to refractive error sometimes are not covered. So how do you go about this situation? Many coders use 368.8 (Visual disturbances; other specified visual disturbances).
The ICD-9 manual covers the note “blurred vision not otherwise specified" (NOS). This points to the fact that this is a good option for blurred vision. But then some carriers do not agree using the logic that there must be something leading to the blurriness and insisting you report the cause and not the symptom.
Rule for coders: You need to use the final diagnoses if a patient has a medical problem; however if the patient has only blurred vision, you should go for 368.8. Here’s an instance: A patient reports with a blurry vision and the ophthalmologist finds a cataract. Here you need to report cataract (366.xx) as the primary diagnosis and blurred vision (368.8) as the secondary diagnosis. This gets more confusing when the patient does not specifically complain of blurred vision and asks for a regular eye exam instead. Experts say that how you code depends on the insurance. If the patient visits for a routine vision exam and you know you are going to bill a vision insurance, report with a routine diagnostic code for refractive error [367.x]. But if the patient does not have a vision plan, then you may choose 368.8 to report it.
According to some coders, while billing with a symptom code like 368.8, their carrier also needs the use of V80.2. And in case you are have some confusion, ask the carrier for its written policy.
Dry-Eye Syndrome
The most common ICD-9 diagnosis code related to dry eye is 375.15. One more code would be 370.33. A word of caution though: Many believe they can report 375.15 and 370.21 interchangeably; however this is not true.
A person complains of blurred vision and visits an eye-care specialist. But when a patient comes with hazy, generalized complaints, say for instance blurry vision, dry eyes, and the like – coders find it difficult to report these. ICD-9 codes that describe blurred vision specifically and similar diagnoses that relate to refractive error sometimes are not covered. So how do you go about this situation? Many coders use 368.8 (Visual disturbances; other specified visual disturbances).
The ICD-9 manual covers the note “blurred vision not otherwise specified" (NOS). This points to the fact that this is a good option for blurred vision. But then some carriers do not agree using the logic that there must be something leading to the blurriness and insisting you report the cause and not the symptom.
Rule for coders: You need to use the final diagnoses if a patient has a medical problem; however if the patient has only blurred vision, you should go for 368.8. Here’s an instance: A patient reports with a blurry vision and the ophthalmologist finds a cataract. Here you need to report cataract (366.xx) as the primary diagnosis and blurred vision (368.8) as the secondary diagnosis. This gets more confusing when the patient does not specifically complain of blurred vision and asks for a regular eye exam instead. Experts say that how you code depends on the insurance. If the patient visits for a routine vision exam and you know you are going to bill a vision insurance, report with a routine diagnostic code for refractive error [367.x]. But if the patient does not have a vision plan, then you may choose 368.8 to report it.
According to some coders, while billing with a symptom code like 368.8, their carrier also needs the use of V80.2. And in case you are have some confusion, ask the carrier for its written policy.
Dry-Eye Syndrome
The most common ICD-9 diagnosis code related to dry eye is 375.15. One more code would be 370.33. A word of caution though: Many believe they can report 375.15 and 370.21 interchangeably; however this is not true.
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