Pulmonology Coding Alert

Careful: 94375 is hot on bundles.Combat these three common mistakes in reporting extrinsic allergic alveolitis, and your claim will soar to success.Say a patient presents with fever, muscular aches, dry cough, shortness of breath, and a general feeling of being unwell. Although these symptoms could lead your pulmonologist to report extrinsic allergic alveolitis (495.x), it may not be the appropriate ICD-9 code. Digging deeper than the tip of the iceberg means your physician should take several steps to properly diagnose this condition, but the whole process could leave you dazed and confused.Mistake #1: You Overlook E/M EncounterExtrinsic allergic alveolitis (495.x) is a lung disorder resulting from repeated inhalation of organic dust, usually in a specific occupational setting, otherwise known as hypersensitivity pneumonitis. In diagnosis, the best evidence for this condition is the patient's occupation and a history of exposure to animal or vegetable dusts.The doctor may want to do some [...]