ED Coding and Reimbursement Alert

Question: What is organic sleep apnea? My physician has been using 780.57 to report sleep apnea, but ICD-9 2007 revised 780.57 to indicate -unspecified- and added 327.23. Would you explain the difference to me?


Texas Subscriber


Answer: When your physician indicates -organic sleep apnea,- it means he was able to identify a specific cause of the sleep apnea. ICD-9 instructs you to code organic sleep apnea with 327.2x (Organic sleep apnea). For example, if the physician finds that excessive weight pressing on the patient's ribs and lungs is causing the sleep apnea, you should report 327.23 (Obstructive sleep apnea [adult] [pediatric]).

You would report unspecified sleep apnea (780.57) if your physician is unable to identify the cause of the apnea or if he is still trying to determine the cause.

Except for 780.56 (Dysfunctions associated with sleep stages or arousal from sleep), all the 780.5x codes are -unspecified,- meaning that you may use them when your physician doesn't give a specific cause for the condition. 
 
Reader Questions and You Be the Coder reviewed by Michael A. Granovsky, MD, CPC, FACEP, president of MRSI, an ED coding and billing company in Woburn, Mass.