Mdm - chemotherapy treatment plan

[krssy70]

For chemotherapy treatment plan: Would this be considered a High MDM due to the treatment plan and decision to do chemotherapy. I am considering this a chronic illness with servere exacerbation, progression, or side effects of treatment. The side effect being told to the patient during the encounter in detail. Also, following chemo, there will be a decision for major surgery (Mastectomy)... Would you consider this a High MDM???

 

[FTessaBartels]

Oncologist or Surgeon?

For the risk portion of MDM you really only need to match one area on the table of risk.

I would certainly qualify chemotherapy as "drug therapy requiring intensive monitoring for toxicity" - which gets you into high risk.

As for counting the elective major surgery ... would not count it at all unless this is the physician who will be performing the surgery. And would not count it as high risk unless patient had co-morbidities - specificially identified and documented by the physician as such. Having cancer, in and of itself, does not constitute a co-morbidity for the elective major surgery. A patient facing major elective surgery who is also diabetic DOES have an identified risk factor, so would be considered high risk.

But for this case, you can stop searching once you've got the chemotherapy plan. Now you DO still need to have either 4+ problem points or 4+ data points to get to High MDM.

Hope that helps.

F Tessa Bartels, CPC, CEMC

 

[krssy70]

Thank you. I did not know that you only needed to match one area on the risk Table. Thank you very much. Thats helps alot...