Pediatric Coding Alert

Here's what you should look for in your physician's documentation.When ICD-9 becomes ICD-10 in 2013, you will not always have a simple crosswalk relationship between old codes and the new ones. Often, you'll have more options that may require tweaking the way you document services and a coder reports it.Check out this common routine child health check visit scenario, and discover what you'll report after October 1, 2013.Current way: When a patient comes in for a scheduled preventive wellness exam, you should attach V20.2 (Routine infant or child health check) to an annual visit code (99381-99385 for new patients, or 99391-99395 for established patients).ICD-10 difference: In 2011, you'll instead use Z00.129 (Encounter for routine child health examination without abnormal findings) to reflect the physician's visit. If the physician did encounter abnormal findings during the visit, you'd instead report Z00.121 (Encounter for routine child health examination with abnormal findings).Physician documentation: The [...]