Home Health ICD-9/ICD-10 Alert
READER QUESTIONS:
Focus Of Care Comes First For Gastrostomy
Published on Fri Mar 10, 2006 
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Question: Our patient has a diagnosis of cancer of the esophagus and is on a gastrostomy tube. How should I code for him?
Oregon Subscriber
Answer: Code V55.1 (Attention to artificial openings, gastrostomy) for the gastrostomy. Then report the cancer of the esophagus with 150.9 (Malignant neoplasm of esophagus; esophagus, unspecified). The second code explains why the patient has a gastrostomy tube.
If the cancer is the focus of the care, code for it first.
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