Code Encounters

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You just landed your first medical coding job. Congrats! Next step, organize your desk and office space for success. Read how our experts get organized.

You did it! You just landed your first medical coding job so now you start clearing the dining table, place your laptop down and start your new journey. That's all there is to it, right?

Think again! Let me introduce you to your new friend: HIPAA. It is the governing regulation that maintains patient privacy and integrity.  It will also shape the way you setup your office.

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HCCS’s Coding Canapés: Tasty tidbits of coding delivered directly to your desktop!

Topic

What is perinatal period in ICD-10-CM? Is the administration of Pitocin to augment active labor coded separately in ICD-10-PCS?

ICD-10-CM-

 Question  

The Official ICD-10-CM Guidelines for Coding and Reporting in the chapter on the perinatal period state, “For coding and reporting purposes the perinatal period is defined as before birth through the 28th day following birth.” Therefore, does this mean that the perinatal period ends on the 29th day of life, making the day of birth equal 0 days?

 

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HCCS’s Coding Canapés: Tasty tidbits of coding delivered directly to your desktop!

The Topic:

Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction and Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction

ICD-10-CM-

Question

Please reconsider the advice previously published in Coding Clinic, First Quarter 2014, page 25, stating that the coder cannot assume either diastolic or systolic failure or a combination of both, based on documentation of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) or heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Would it be appropriate to code diastolic or systolic heart failure when the provider documents HFpEF or HFrEF?

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Are you interested in working from home while Medical Coding?

Review the infographic below for some helpful tips.

Learn about:

• The role a medical coder plays and their responsibilities.   
• The education necessary to become a medical coder.
• Setting up a home office for optimal coding.
• The future of medical coding and earning potential.

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