Orthopedic Coding Alert

Code the condition your ortho treats first, followed by co-morbidity. If you think you can bill only one diagnosis code per claim, you could be unintentionally sending your claim to limbo land. Find out how your ICD-9 codes can complete your patients story and even boost your claims success. Use All the Appropriate ICD-9 Codes Dont believe the myth that you can bill only one diagnosis code. Fact: Based on physician documentation, you should bill as many diagnosis codes as you need to establish medical necessity for the services youre billing, says  Kerry Sheskier, billing manager CPBS at Orthopaedic Dept./Physical Therapy of Winthrop Hospital in Bethany, N.Y. Medicare will process up to eight diagnosis codes. I always think of ICD-9 coding as telling a story,says Kristi Stumpf, MCS-P, CPC, COSC, ACS-OR, compliance and coding supervisor at Proliance Orthopedics and Sports Medicine in Bellevue, Wash. The more complete your story, the [...]