Pathology/Lab Coding Alert

3 scenarios show the way to accurate pay. You use the same procedure code for a uterine fibroid or polyp specimen, so how could getting the diagnosis wrong cost your pathologist pay? Let our experts unravel the mystery with a primer for diagnosis and procedure codes, plus three examples to showcase appropriate billing opportunities. Zero-In On Diagnosis Codes "Uterine fibroids and polyps are similar because they're both growths, but they're from different source tissue, and ICD-9 categorizes them to completely different codes," says Melanie Witt, RN, COBGC, MA, an independent coding consultant in Guadalupita, N.M. Uterine Polyps: An overgrowth of the endometrial lining, polyps usually occur within the uterine cavity and are typically malleable and small. Uterine polyps are often superficial, and therefore easy to remove. ICD-9 distinguishes uterine polyps based on location and pathology, as follows: 621.0 -- Polyp of corpus uteri. The pathology report might list this finding as [...]