Happy Valentine’s Day everyone, and thanks for dropping by! Last year, Keystone Health Partners took an ICD-10 angle on love gone wrong...check out our blog about bad dates, breakups and more here! This year, we’ll take a look at ICD-10 codes that are related to the iconic symbol of love: the heart. Unfortunately, the codes related to heart conditions are a lot more serious than the codes we drummed up last year. Nonetheless, let’s take a look!
Heart failure (I50) is very broad in scope. As described by ICD10Data, it is “a disorder characterized by the inability of the heart to pump blood at an adequate volume to meet tissue metabolic requirements, or, the ability to do so only at an elevation in the filling pressure...Heart failure can be caused by structural defects, functional abnormalities (ventricular dysfunction), or a sudden overload beyond its capacity. Chronic heart failure is more common than acute heart failure.” I50 itself is not billable as a code because it needs to be much more descriptive.
I25.3 is an aneurysm of the heart, which means a bulge in the lining or wall of a vessel. It most often happens in the left ventricle of the human heart, and is very serious. ICD10Data has this to say: “Blood-filled aneurysms are dangerous because they may burst. Fibrous aneurysms interfere with the heart function through the loss of contractility. True aneurysm is bound by the vessel wall or cardiac wall. False aneurysms are hematoma caused by myocardial rupture.” I25.3 is a billable code.
Kyphoscoliotic heart disease (I27.1) is a combination of kyphosis (a musculoskeletal deformity) and scoliosis (a congenital or acquired spine deformity) that has a negative effect on the heart. It is rare, and the chances of encountering this ICD-10 code are very low. I27.1 is a billable code.
Z94.1 is heart transplant status. In the eight years between 2000 and 2008, approximately 17,000 people underwent a full heart transplant (roughly 2,000 per year) in the United States. The number is so low partially due to the fact that there are so few donor hearts available, and a lot of factors need to be considered before performing a heart transplant. This billable code is used to denote whether a transplant is fully functioning, rejected, or something in between.
Going into surgery is a complex process with definite risk. Anesthesia, other drugs, and often the procedure itself has potential to cause some harm, unfortunately. I97.131 stands for postprocedural heart failure following other surgery. Should a patient’s heart fail after noncardiac surgery, this billable code is the appropriate one to use.
So there you have it - five important ICD-10 codes dealing with love’s most symbolic organ: the heart. Of course, this blog was somewhat somber, so we invite you to have a chuckle and learn about other ICD-10 codes in our Florida vacation edition, or learn all about green beer and hangovers! For questions about whether to outsource medical billing is right for your practice, please contact us today!
