February 2007

Two Official Tips for Coding Heart Disease with Hypertension
Go BEYOND THE BASICS in your coding education!
Prepare for your HCS-D Exam Over the Telephone
Take Your HCS-D Exam Online
Upcoming Events

Hello from the Board of Medical Specialty Coding! We hope you enjoy your monthly ezine and find the information useful. If you have any comments or recommendations for future issues, please contact me through the following channels:

Victoria Forlini, Executive Director
vforlini@medicalspecialtycoding.com
301/287-2250 (phone)
301/287-2941 (fax)

Two Official Tips for Coding Heart Disease with Hypertension

Look out for key words in the documentation the next time you code hypertension with heart disease, and you’ll be well on your way to accurate coding. That’s one of several tips contained in the newly released ICD-9 Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting that took effect Nov. 25, 2006. [Access the rules online at www.cdc.gov/nchs/datawh/ftpserv/
ftpicd9/icdguide06.pdf.]

Scan the paperwork for these telling phrases:

• “Due to hypertension” This phrase suggests a causal relationship between the heart condition and the circulatory system disease, notes the ICD-9 Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting.
• “Hypertensive” In a heart patient, this word implies a relationship between that condition and hypertension, the guidelines add.

In both of these cases, use a code from the 402 category, hypertensive heart disease, the instructions state. Tip: Code them first. Then use an additional code from the 428 category for patients with heart failure for those with systolic or diastolic failure (428.2 and 428.3 respectively) and congestive heart
failure (428.0), the guidelines state. Code as many of these conditions as are described.

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Go BEYOND THE BASICS in your coding education!
Six cities will host BMSC's Beyond the Basics: Critical Issues in Home Care Coding live conference event in April and May. This one-day educational opportunity will focus on OASIS, coding and PPS; coding concepts like choosing primary and secondary diagnoses, manifestations, and underlying conditions. Critical thinking, and how that leads to accurate coding, will be discussed throughout. Of course, there will be scenarios and examples and an opportunity to take your HCS-D Certification or Recertification Exam on the next day!!! Visit the conference website to learn more information.

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Prepare for your HCS-D Exam Over the Telephone

We've heard you. You want help to prepare for your HCS-D Certification or Recertification Exam. You can now get some of the help you need, and right in your own office!

BMSC is working closely with Lisa Selman-Holman to provide audio conferences to help you prepare for your exams. During these audio conferences, Lisa will be discussing key items on the study outlines... breaking down the critical points that give coders the most challenges. There will be a specific audio conference for the HCS-D certification and recertification exams. If you have questions, or just want to make sure you're on the right track with your coding, this will be one audio conference series you do not want to miss.

Mark the following dates on your calendars:

March 28 - Ask the Expert about the HCS-D Certification Exam and your Coding Questions

March 29 - Ask the Expert about the HCS-D Recertification Examination and Other Coding Dilemmas

Registration for these audio conferences will be available soon. Please check our website at www.medicalspecialtycoding.com for more details.

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Take your HCS-D Exam Online!
To make test-taking easier for you, you can now take the
HCS-D certification and recertifications online. It's simple! Register as you normally would -- via our website or on paper, and select the Online option. We will send you an email confirming your registration and giving you further instructions. Don't worry! You still can take the exam at a conference, but we're listening to you as you search for easier ways to become certified. To learn more, about how to register and more about our certification, visit our website at www.medicalspecialtycoding.com.

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Upcoming Events

Here's the 411 on some upcoming events where you'll get top-notch educational opportunities to earn CEUs and even a place to sit for your HCS-D certification or recertification exam!

Event: Diabetes Manifestations: Overcome Common Errors for Improved Accuracy and Revenue
Location: in your office
Date: February 22, 2007
To register or learn more information: http://www.homehealthinteractive.com/
conferences/A1163/home.htm
This conference has been pre-approved by BMSC for 2 CEUs.

Event: ICD-9-CM Coding for Home Care: Advancing to the Next Level
Date: March 28-29, 2007
To register or learn more information: http://www.medicalspecialtycoding.com/homecare/
documents/SharonMolinari_brochure_codingworkshops.pdf
This conference has been pre-approved by BMSC for 10 CEUs.

Event: Beyond the Basics:Critical Issues in Home Care Coding
Date and Locations: Six dates and locations in April and May 2007
To register or learn more information: http://www.beyondthebasicscoding.com/home.html
This conference has been pre-approved by BMSC for 10 CEUs.

Event: 2007 Home Health Coding Summit
Date: August 13-16, 2007 in Chicago
To register or learn more information: http://www.homehealthinteractive.com/conferences
/homehealthcodingsummit2007/
This conference has been pre-approved by BMSC for 10 CEUs.

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What do you want to see in your next issue of the Home Care Advisor? More news? More events to earn CEUs? Some practice scenarios? Email BMSC's Executive Director, Victoria Forlini, and let her know. We want to hear from you!!