Pulmonology Coding Alert

Find out why coding for primary source of tumor is as important as coding for the tumor itself.Malignant lungs/bronchial tumor and pleural effusion are two of the most common diagnosis in pulmonology. If your mind is set a year back in time for these conditions, you could easily mix up the old and new ways of coding them. For instance, you now need to be on the lookout for the source of a primary tumor when coding pleural effusions.Check out if you've got the answers for the quiz right.209.21, 209.61 End Scrambling for Dx Code on Different Tumor TypesScenario 1: The pulmonologist performs bronchial biopsies on a mass in a patient's upper bronchus. Pathology reports come back indicating a malignant carcinoid tumor. What should you report?Solution 1: You should report 31625 (Bronchoscopy, rigid or flexible, with or without fluoroscopic guidance; with bronchial or endobronchial biopsy[s], single or multiple sites) for [...]