Orthopedic Coding Alert

You’ll find brand new codes, such as these for Salter-Harris fractures.

The CDC has posted a preliminary list of ICD-10-CM changes for October 1 (aka ICD-10-CM 2017), and just in case you don’t want to sort through about 2,000 new codes, we will be narrowing down the main areas orthopedic coders need to know.

“The new codes are M and S for orthopaedics, … and there are 1,000s of them,” says Bill Mallon, MD, former medical director, Triangle Orthopedic Associates, Durham, N.C. “Some of them are simply new syntax for older codes, but a lot of them are new codes.”

Be warned: The list is not yet final. “The code lists that have been posted on the CMS and CDC websites are NOT the final list. The Addenda to be published in June is the complete, final list of code changes going into effect this October,” says Sue Bowman, MJ, RHIA, CCS, FAHIMA, Senior Director of Coding Policy and Compliance at AHIMA.

Resource: To review the complete list, head to ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/Health_Statistics/NCHS/Publications/ICD10CM/2017/NewICD10CMCodes_FY2017.txt.

Note: Look for future ICD-10-CM articles featuring the new ICD-10-CM codes in the future Orthopedic Coding Alert issues, but here’s a preview.

You’ll find codes that specify more laterality, such as M25.541 (Pain in joints of right hand), M25.542 (Pain in joints of left hand), and M25.549 (Pain in joints of unspecified hand).

You will have to adopt subtle revisions such as M96.830 (Postprocedural hemorrhage and hematoma of a musculoskeletal structure following a musculoskeletal system procedure) to (Postprocedural hemorrhage of a musculoskeletal structure following a musculoskeletal system procedure).

You’ll also have to learn new codes like S99.011A (Salter-Harris Type I physeal fracture of right calcaneous, initial encounter for closed fracture) and M62.84 (Sarcopenia).

Stay tuned to the Orthopedic Coding Alert make certain you’re aware of these changes before your claims turn into denials.