Neurology & Pain Management Coding Alert

Plus: Heads up on the timeline until ICD-10 implementation.New and revised ICD-9 diagnosis codes will take effect October 1, with no grace period. Neurology coders will have a few new choices related to dementia and Lambert- Eaton syndrome, so take time now to get familiar with the expected changes.Look for 'Unspecified' Dementia OptionsThe upcoming 2012 edition of ICD-9 will include two additional diagnoses for unspecified dementia. The new codes are:294.20 -- Dementia, unspecified, without behavioral disturbance294.21 -- Dementia, unspecified, with behavioral disturbance.Codes 294.10 and 294.11 already describe dementia in conditions classified elsewhere (with and without behavioral disturbance). The new codes finally give you an accurate choice when the physician doesn't specify an associated condition. Until diagnoses 294.20 and 294.21 go into effect, is the alphabetic index for ICD-9-CM 2011 directs you to report diagnosis 294.8 (Other persistent mental disorders due to conditions classified elsewhere) for dementia NOS, says Marvel J. Hammer, RN, [...]