Part B Insider (Multispecialty) Coding Alert

Published on Fri Jun 13, 2008 PDF

Find the diagnosis codes in this patient's history

Sometimes it may seem as if there's an ICD-9 code for everything, but it can be difficult to find the one you-re looking for when you need it.  

Grab your ICD-9 manual and test your coding skills by filling in the codes for this life story.

Consider This History

My life began on a sunny No-vember morning when I was born to my wonderful parents, both of whom now have diabetes (V code Dx1: ____). When I was 6 months old, I was diagnosed with croup (Dx 2: ______), which later turned into viral pneumonia (Dx3: _______).

I got my first job at the age of 17, when I worked at a deli. I cut the lunch meat too closely one afternoon and cut off the tip of my right index finger (Dx 4: ____). About a week later, I suffered a skin infection at the amputation site (Dx 5:____). 

After I healed from that, I stayed away from sharp objects and went to college on a tennis scholarship. After three years of daily tennis playing, I got tennis elbow (Dx 6: ___) and calcifying tendinitis of the shoulder(Dx 7: ___).

My current favorite hobby is gardening on the weekends. Kneeling in the garden has exacerbated osteoarthritis in my knees (Dx 8: ________). The doctor also said I should start taking calcium supplements because he thinks I have early signs of osteoporosis (Dx 9: ____).

Check Your Skills

Were you able to play -This Is Your Life- with the patient's diagnosis coding? Review the answers to our ICD-9 coding quiz to see how well you scored:

Answers: Dx 1: V18.0 (Family history of diabetes mellitus)

Dx 2: 464.4 (Croup)
Dx 3: 480.9 (Viral pneumonia, unspecified)
Dx 4: 886.0 (Traumatic amputation of other finger[s] [complete] [partial]; without mention of complication).
Dx 5: 686.9 (Unspecified local infection of skin and subcutaneous tissue)
Dx 6: 726.32 (Lateral epicondylitis)
Dx 7: 726.11 (Calcifying tendinitis of shoulder)
Dx 8: 715.36 (Osteoarthrosis, localized, not specified whether primary or secondary; lower leg)
Dx 9: 733.00 (Osteoporosis, unspecified).