AHA Coding Clinic for ICD-10-CM/PCS Released

Here we are in July, and the third-quarter 2017 issue of AHA’s (the American Hospital Association’s) Coding Clinic for ICD-10-CM/PCS has been released, earlier than we’ve seen in the past. It’s good news that this publication has been released so early, though, because we now can get to reading through the guidance.

Keep in mind that coding conventions and instructions take precedence over the guidelines. AHA Coding Clinic is considered an official source for coding direction and is the result of the work of four cooperating parties: AHA, AHIMA (American Health Information Management Association), CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services), and NCHS (National Center for Health Statistics).

For those who focus on the diagnosis side, there are some key areas of which to make note:

1. Emaciation and malnutrition
2. Gastric ulcer with hemorrhage
3. Kwashiorkor
4. Late preterm infant
5. Persistent postoperative fistula

I’m sure those who work in coding and clinical documentation improvement (CDI) will want to carefully read the guidance regarding emaciation and Kwashiorkor. Be sure to read the full content of this Coding Clinic issue to gain the complete instruction.

For those who are interested in hospital inpatient procedure coding, then ICD-10-PCS guidance is what you want to read. Here are several of the key coding topics for PCS to read over:

1. Bypass right femoral artery with SVG and procedure with PTE/synthetic graft
2. Defect in the abdominal wall – placement of a silo
3. Delivery of placenta
4. Reposition of the ileum and reposition of the ascending colon via natural or artificial opening
5. Supplement procedure on the right and left atrium

This should give you an idea of some of the great topics for which guidance is now being provided for complete and accurate coding. The list above is not complete, so again, read the full content of the most recent issue to gain comprehensive guidance.

AHA Coding Clinic can be obtained through a paid subscription or through coding software/encoder tools. For more information about obtaining AHA Coding Clinic issues, go online to http://www.ahacentraloffice.org/

As always, it is the responsibility of each coding professional to read the AHA Coding Clinic guidance thoroughly and apply it correctly.

This is also stated in the AHIMA “Standards of Ethical Coding.” Work within your department and/or organization to ensure that all coding staff, coding auditors, and coding educators are reading over the publication on a quarterly basis.