November 2004 · Vol. 16, No. 11Easier reimbursement: How the new ICD-9 helps
Securing payment for HPV testing is now much simpler, thanks to much-needed coordination of diagnostic codes with the revised Bethesda System.
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Fast Track
New codes were added to report findings of HGSIL and LGSIL.
The code for vaginal prolapse was expanded to provide additional detail.
V72.31 covers routine gynecologic examination—including a Pap smear, if performed.
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Melanie
Witt,
RN, CPC, MAIndependent coding and documentation consultant; former program manager,
Department of Coding and Nomenclature,
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Mrs. Smith undergoes a screening Pap smear at her annual exam. It has been several years since her last Pap test. The report indicates atypical glandular cells, favor neoplastic. You ask her to return for further testing. The coding dilemma: Should you report this as cancer in situ (233.1) or atypical cells of undetermined significance “favor dysplasia” (795.02)?
Thanks to the newly revised Pap smear section of the International Classification of Diseases–9th Revision–Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM), frustrating scenarios like the one above are now a thing of the past.
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