Wiki E-Codes

[cjhalk@yahoo.com]

Hello -

1-
Will someone please confirm how I am coding? I seem to have stirred up a hornets nest and want to make sure before "going to war," that I am correct or do I need to surrender. I have two questions.

I have providers who are coding E-Codes in my view as incorrectly.
The E-codes in question are

E000.0 - Civilian activity done for income or pay
E000.1 - Military activity
E000.2 - Volunteer activity
E000.8 - External cause status

The ones I am not backing down on are Military Activity or Civilian Activity.

Documentation example:
"Patient jumped over drainage ditch."

Providers are using E000.2 Volunteer Activity because it describes a patient doing something of their own choosing. While I understand that logical argument - volunteer to me describes doing work for a company like the Red Cross or Habitat for Humanity. E000.2 does not describe an activity the patient does on their own choosing. If it did, then washing the dishes at home would technically be a volunteer activity. I think the best E-Code is E000.8 for the activity. I would submit that if the provider ties in by dictation jumping over a drainage ditch as work related to the Red Cross then yes, it would be a volunteer activity.

2-
Related to the drainage ditch again (this is just the most recent example)
Provider states in dictation, "Patient jumped over a drainage ditch."
The provider coded E849.5 - Injury or poisoning occurring at/in street and highway.

Am I being too picky if I say that is the incorrect E-Code? Drainage ditch does not imply that the drainage ditch is located on a street or highway. Even if the ditch is located on the side of the road/street/ documentation does not support that a street or highway was involved. Drainage ditches are not all by the side of the road.

In general, if the documentation does not specifically state what the E-Codes states, it is not the correct E-Code - even if "it's the closest E-Code available."

Any thoughts?

Thank you,
Christopher

 

[ljulien]

You are correct E000.2 - Volunteer Activity describes an activity performed directly related to volunteer work and not off-duty activities.

You are also correct in that "Pt jumped over drainage ditch" does not provide enough info to assign Place of Occurence code E849.5.

I'm not sure "going to war" with your provider(s) is the best way to handle the issues here. Instead, I would suggest you provide them with the guidelines for E000.0-E000.9. You can query the provider(s) for additional info on the specific type and place of injury in order to assign the accurate code(s).

 

[cjhalk@yahoo.com]

Thank you very much. Yes, you are correct that going to war with the providers is not the best way to approach this. But in my defense, these providers love to scream and call names!!! So I feel like I go to war each any every time I bring something up.

I truly do appreciate your response.