Gastroenterology Coding Alert

Note minor changes to the descriptor for Achalasia.When your gastroenterologist arrives at a diagnosis of achalasia of cardia, you will need to be prepared with the appropriate ICD-10 code to report when these set of codes come into use after Oct. 1, 2014.Note Descriptor Changes in ICD-10Under ICD-9 codes, you will report a diagnosis of achalasia using 530.0 (Achalasia and cardiospasm). You can use the same code when your gastroenterologist notes a diagnosis of aperistalsis of esophagus and megaesophagus. The list of exclusions for 530.0 comprises congenital cardiospasm (750.7) and esophageal varices (456.0 -- 456.2).When ICD-10 codes come into effect, 530.0 in ICD-9 that represents achalasia will crosswalk to K22.0 (Achalasia of cardia). Note that the descriptor in ICD-10 is different to the ICD-9 code for achalasia. The list of inclusions for this code comprise achalasia NOS and cardiospasm while the list of exclusions remain the same as in ICD-9 and [...]