Primary Care Coding Alert

This denial averting chart links acute, chronic, tophus to required fifth digits. Thwart autorejections for 274.0 (Gouty arthropathy) come Oct. 1 by mapping key terms to this condition's new fifth digit. As primary care physicians, family physicians often are the first ones to encounter presence of gout in patients. Be familiar with the new codes for 2010 to avoid denials and revenue loss. Describe 4 Types of Gout -- Here's How Previously, gouty arthropathy was listed broadly as "Gouty Arthropathy." No attempt to distinguish between the different conditions (acute or chronic), or presence/ absence of tophi, was done for previous versions of ICD-9-CM. Recognizing the need for this, additional codes have been included. Getting new diagnosis codes that provide additional specificity can certainly be a plus, says Marvel J. Hammer, RN, CPC, CCS-P, PCS, ACS-PM, CHCO, of MJH Consulting in Denver. ICD-9 2010 requires a fifth digit on 274.0 as follows: [...]