Coding and COVID-19

During this time of the year coders begin to ponder the potential coding changes that are brought about by the Spring Coordination and Maintenance Committee meeting. 

This year’s virtual meeting proposes multiple changes that will create lots of questions for those of us who spend the majority of the day with our noses pondering the challenges of the over 1900 page coding book. 

We can expect to see a code for Post COVID-19 Condition.  U09. Post COVID-19 condition, unspecified.

This code enables the establishment of a link with COVID-19; is NOT to be used in cases still presenting with COVID-19; and proposed guidance directs us to Code first the specific condition related to COVID-19 if known, such as: J96.1-Chronic Respiratory Failure.

We can also expect to see major changes in multiple dementia categories expanding the coding to include the severity of dementia and further identifying behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia.  Both of these issues present as major factors in patient management strategies in the home care and hospice setting.  Due to the progressive nature of dementia there is surely a need for further clinical data to capture the stages of severity.  Severity stages are identified as mild, moderate, and severe and then further expanded to include behavioral and psychological symptoms.