Radiology Coding Alert

Unlike ICD-9, vascular headaches get their own codes in the new code set.When ICD-9 becomes ICD-10 in 2013, you will not always have a simple one-to-one relationship between old codes and the new ones. Often, you'll have more options that may require tweaking the way your physician documents a service and the way a coder reports it.Consider this: Patients often present for imaging with the order indicating "headache." If the radiologist doesn't document a definitive diagnosis or relevant findings based on the exam, the most appropriate code to explain the reason for the test is 784.0 (Headache).According to the ICD-9 2011 index, 784.0 is a code to consider (unless you find something more appropriate in the tabular) for headache; daily, chronic headache; nasal septum headache; and vascular headache.ICD-10 difference: Under ICD-10 2011, your go-to code for "headache" will be R51 (Headache). According to the ICD- 10 index, R51, like 784.0, [...]