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The updated guidelines also instruct that if a patient with dementia is admitted to an inpatient facility and worsens during their stay, the coder should assign the highest severity level reported during the stay. If the documentation is incomplete, the coder should consult the vendor or default to the appropriate unspecified code.
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The new guidelines for reporting dementia emphasize that providers must clearly document the severity of the patient’s condition. You can now include conditions such as vascular dementia (4), dementia associated with other diseases (4), and non-specific dementia (4).
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ICD-10-CM Coordination and Maintenance Committee Meetingthe National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF) called for an expansion of dementia codes to include stage and severity, and identification of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia.” As a result, the ICD-10 2023 code set now includes nearly 100 new related codes with dementia. So let’s break down the revisions, deletions, and additions to help you prepare.Īn expansion of dementia codes came from a September 2021 request from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). They apply to all insurers, whether you’re billing Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, or a commercial payer. Question: What are the new documentation codes for 2023?Īnswer: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued the ICD-10-CM Code 2023 Update on June 9, 2022, containing 1,176 new, 28 revised, and 287 deleted codes used for patient contacts and discharges from Octoto September 30, 2023.
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