Pathology/Lab Coding Alert

Confused about ordering or final diagnosis? Look no further. Insurers base your payment on whether your claims show medical necessity -- and you can't demonstrate that without accurate diagnosis codes. Refresh your ICD-9 coding skills with four tips that make diagnosis coding a breeze. Tip 1: Labs Don't Assign Diagnosis Although lab payment -- like any other provider payment -- depends on an ICD-9 code that shows medical necessity, labs don't get to pick that code. The ordering physician must assign the ICD-9 code, or at least provide a narrative diagnosis, when ordering a lab test. "Labs have always been caught in the middle because they have to report an ICD-9 code with a claim, yet they can't assign the diagnosis," says Stan Werner, MT (ASCP), administrative director of Peterson Laboratory Services PA in Manhattan, Kan. Even if the lab test results indicate a particular condition, the lab can't assign an ICD-9 code [...]