Internal Medicine Coding Alert

ICD-10:

Atrial Fibrillation Directly Maps to a Single Code in ICD-10

Be aware of the code(s) to use when ICD-10 arrives.

Reporting an atrial fibrillation diagnosis will be simple under ICD-10, thanks to a one-to-one code shift. The current diagnosis under ICD-9-CM, 427.31 (Atrial fibrillation) will become I48.0 in October 2013.

ICD-10 tip: You'll find diagnosis I48.0 in Chapter 9 of ICD-10 (Diseases of the Circulatory System) under the subsection Other Forms of Heart Disease. Coding guidelines include a list of exclusions for conditions you shouldn't report with the codes in Chapter 9. Double check those exclusions (such as endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases or congenital or chromosomal malformations) before submitting a diagnosis such as I48.0.

Physicians might use electrocardiograms (ECGs), lab tests, chest X-rays, echocardiogram or transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE), or ambulatory ECGs to help evaluate the extent of the patient's condition. If so, be sure you have the physician orders and test results in the patient's chart before coding the services in conjunction with I48.0.

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