Otolaryngology Coding Alert

You can finally code for animal hair, dander

If you want to avoid denials this fall when your allergist treats patients allergic to animal dander, you should know how to use new ICD-9 code 477.2.

And you have little time to spare. On Sept. 30, you should add 477.2 (Allergic rhinitis, due to animal [cat] [dog] hair and dander) to your ICD-9 code list because CMS ended the coding grace period earlier this year. The new diagnosis codes are effective Oct. 1. How to Specify Allergic Rhinitis' Cause The addition of 477.2 to ICD-9 allows for greater specificity for the allergic rhinitis cases you report, says Roger Hettinger, CPC, CMC, CCS-P, coding specialist at Sioux Valley Clinic in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Old way: Before 477.2, no code existed specifically for allergic rhinitis due to animal hair and dander. That means you probably reported 477.8 (Allergic rhinitis; due to other allergen) if the patient presented with allergic symptoms for animals, Hettinger says.

Extra: You can now add 477.2 to the ICD-9 codes that already existed for rhinitis, such as 477.0 (Allergic rhinitis; due to pollen), 477.1 (... due to food), 477.8 (... due to other allergen) and 477.9 (... cause unspecified).

Editor's note: To review a full listing of the new ICD-9 codes, visit the CMS Web site http://www.cms.hhs.gov/medlearn/icd9code.asp#coding.