Coding Corner
Date Posted: lunes, octubre 05, 2015
Q. Is the diagnosis of scoliosis coded differently in ICD-9 vs. ICD-10?
A. Yes, in ICD-9 the default code for unspecified scoliosis instructs the coder to use the code for idiopathic scoliosis. In ICD-10, there is a diagnosis code for unspecified scoliosis, but ICD-10 does not assume it is idiopathic scoliosis. In ICD-10, there are many different types of scoliosis codes to choose from such as:
1) Congenital
2) Juvenile and other adolescent idiopathic scoliosis
a) Infantile idiopathic
b) Juvenile idiopathic
c) Adolescent
d) Other idiopathic
e) Thoracogenic
f) Neuromuscular
g) Other secondary
h) Other
3) Intraoperative or post-procedural
a) Post-radiation
b) Post-laminectomy
c) Post-surgical
The report will also need to document a region/location:
1) Occipito-atlanto-axial
2) Cervical
3) Cervicothoracic
4) Thoracic
5) Thoracolumbar
6) Lumbar
7) Lumbosacral
8) Sacral and sacrococcygeal
Some of this information will need to come from the referring physician, some of this information can be obtained from the radiologist report.