coding/documentation question

[bearps@comcast.net]

A Medicare patient comes in with the diagnosis code of 793.19 – and this is for subsequent treatment strategy. This is non covered per Medicare. IF the patient signs an ABN and then we go ahead and scan the patient, AND the scan comes back positive for lung cancer, can we then change the diagnosis codes to 162.9 and bill it out that way?

diagnosis codes, diagnosis coding

 

[relong]

The scan is what you are billing out? You can't go back and change the dx after the fact. I would be going over the documentation inch by inch to see if theres anything else that would support it.

diagnosis codes, diagnosis coding