Gastroenterology Coding Alert

Keep track of the many factors docs must master to nail down payment. Does your physician diagnose and treat many patients who have celiac disease? Then you need to really be on top of your E/M coding game to maximize reimbursement. Celiac disease (579.0) is a genetically based intolerance to gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and oats. The treatment is for the patient to avoid foods that contain gluten. That sounds simple enough, but the condition can be fiendishly difficult to diagnose. Symptoms vary and are not always gastrointestinal. You need to be familiar with counting history of present illness; personal, family, and social history; and review of systems elements, and you need to know that widely disparate symptoms and history items may pertain to this complex and often puzzling disease. Celiac disease may affect 3 million Americans -- or 0.5 percent to 1 percent of the U.S. [...]