2019 ICD-10-CM Changes for Cardiology

Nail 2019 ICD-10-CM Changes for Cardiology: Cerebral Infarction, Lipoprotein, Hyperlipidemia, Plasminogen Deficiency, & More

The addition of more specific codes will minimize the use of ‘other’ catch-all codes effective Oct. 1.

Cardiology coders got off fairly easy in terms of the 2019 ICD-10-CM Code Book set, which involves just 19 changes consisting of minor edits and a handful of new, more specific codes, along with changes to cardiology coding guidelines 2018.

Despite the fact that your specialty isn’t as affected as much as other specialties, there’s still some important revisions to nail down — from cerebral infarction and elevated lipoprotein to hyperlipidemia and plasminogen deficiency.

Review these new code additions and revisions to get a jump on 2019 ICD-10-CM:

Take Stock of New & Revised Codes for Cerebral Infarction

Effective Oct. 1, you’ll use new cerebral infarction codes in Category I63- — I63.81 and I63.89 that replaces the existing ‘other cerebral infarction’ code 163.8.

The 2019 ICD-10-CM code set also brings cerebral infarction revisions your way — such as changing a plural word to singular or adding missing words for clarity. You’ll find such changes in code descriptors for I63.219 and I63.239 — where the word ‘arteries’ is changed to ‘artery’.

Note: Don’t miss the instructional note under category 163- with instructions to report an additional code.

Check Out Updated Hyperlipidemia & Plasminogen Deficiency Codes

Once the changes are effective, you’ll no longer report hyperlipidemia with E78.4. Instead you’ll use new codes — E 78.49 and E78.41. For plasminogen deficiency, you’ll use the new and more specific code E88.02 in place of E88.09. You’ll also have more specific code choices to report lipidemia and lipoprotein metabolism.

Look to New Subcategory Under Category 167-

Under category I67- (Other cerebrovascular diseases), you’ll find a new sub category I67.85- (Hereditary cerebrovascular diseases), with new codes: I67.850 and I67.858.

Here again, don’t forget to check out the new ‘code also’ note under I67.850 that directs you to report any associated diagnoses, such as epilepsy and recurrent seizures.

Don’t Miss These Blink-n-Miss Changes

Make sure you keep an eye out for numerous easy-to-miss revisions, such as a space between ‘true’ and ‘transmural’ in the code descriptor for myocardial infarction (acute) code I22.8; changes to coding notes, such as categories I60- through I69-; or even changes in an Excludes1 note for I77.6-.

Tap into This Resource as You Step Up Your Preparation

Staying updated with the 2019 ICD-10-CM codes is critical for your cardiology practice as knowing the revisions will help you avoid claim denials and reimbursement loss.

Check out TCI’s Cardiology Coding Alert to get clear, step-by-step explanations of all the cardiology-specific ICD-10-CM code updates, along with expert insight on cardiology coding guidelines 2018–2019, documentation best practices, real-world case studies, and more.

View Source: https://thecodinginstituteblog.wordpress.com/2018/09/03/2019-icd-10-cm-changes-for-cardiology/

The Coding Institute

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