Wiki Streptococcus Question???

[Jessica33xx]

Does anyone know the difference between code 041.00 Streptococcus, unspecified and code 041.09 Other Streptococcus and when you would use either?

My ICD-9-CM book has the same description for both of them and I have looked every where for a difference.

 

[btadlock1]

Does anyone know the difference between code 041.00 Streptococcus, unspecified and code 041.09 Other Streptococcus and when you would use either?

My ICD-9-CM book has the same description for both of them and I have looked every where for a difference.

041.00 is Unspecified streptococcus, meaning that the medical record doesn't give you enough information to determine which type of strep it is (eg, Group A, Group B, etc.)

041.09 is Other specified streptococcus, meaning, you do know what type of strep it is, but there's not a code for the specific type. So, for example, if your documentation says 'Group Z Streptococcus' (Yes, I'm making that up...pretend it's real for a minute...), you would use 041.09, since you know what group it's from, but there's no code for Group Z Strep.

If the record just says "streptococcus", and you don't have any labs to confirm which group of strep it is, then you'd use 041.00.
No matter where you are in the ICD-9, the definitions for other and unspecified codes, stays the same:
Unspecified = "I don't know"; Other Specified = "There's not a code"

 

[Jessica33xx]

Here is the thing though, I did some research and there are only the five groups listed in the book (unless I overlooked one) so 041.09 still is kind of pointless.

 

[mjb5019]

strep

There are 5 types listed in the book. That doesn't mean there are only 5 types of strep in the world. There are over 120 strains of strep.