Providers and payers now have revised tabular and index information for new ICD-10-CM code U07.1 (COVID-19) issued today by the panel that maintains the diagnosis code set in the U.S.
Providers will find immediate opportunity to provide virtual visits to patients enrolled in Medicare plans as CMS seeks to facilitate screening and treatment of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases through telehealth services and implement billing guidance for these visits.
Providers in the U.S. will soon have a specific ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for the COVID-19 virus. During a March 18 meeting, The ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance Committee announced that it would adopt the World Health Organization (WHO) code, U07.1 (COVID-19), effective April 1.
Previously, the panel had planned to implement the code beginning October 1 in the U.S. But the committee moved up the adoption date after the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic and President Trump declared the spread of the virus a national emergency, explained Donna Pickett, head of the diagnosis coding side of the ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance Committee. She announced the April 1 implementation date during the March 18 committee meeting.
Prior to April 1, providers can continue to report based on previously published interim guidelines, which outline, among other things, how to report illnesses caused by COVID-19.
Note that code U07.1 should be reported only for confirmed cases. Providers should continue to follow the interim guidelines for unconfirmed cases of suspected exposure or symptoms.
Code U07.1 is designed to be a primary code—coders are advised to code also pneumonia and all other manifestations.
Q: We are seeing an influx of possible novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patients at our facility. How can we prepare to query for COVID-19-related documentation and coding issues that are bound to come our way due to the newness of the diagnosis?
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