Wiki diagnostic coding/new coder

[KuhnM123]

I am coding outpatient clinics
you have an admitting dx and than a primary/principle and secondaries.
my question is do you always bring down the admitting/chief complaint unless he finds something. if he finds something i assume you use that code but what about the admitting, what do i do with that. i guess it goes away if he found something but if nothing really found you put the ADX as your PDX am i correct?

thank you

 

[medicalbiller36]

Diagnostic coding can be fun, but it is sometimes complicated. You should always code the chief complaint as the primarydiagnosis. This is the reason why the patient is having diagnostic services. If the provider performed a service to rule out something, you can not code that. So keep that in mind, and we should never be coding in the afterwards if that makes sense. Abdominal pain, 789.00, ultrasound performed (Ruptured Gallbladder) the ultrasound would be performed because of the abdominal pain. The gall bladder would be removed because of the rupture. Make sense?

 

[KuhnM123]

thank you, that does make sense.