Chapter 7: Diseases of the Eye and Adnexa (H00–H59) Flashcards
(12 cards)
What should you include when coding glaucoma?
The type of glaucoma, the eye affected, and the stage of the disease.
If both eyes have the same type and stage of glaucoma, and there’s a bilateral code, how many codes do you assign?
One bilateral code with the proper stage as the seventh character.
If both eyes have the same type and stage, but there is no bilateral code available, what do you do?
Assign one code for the glaucoma type with the correct seventh character.
If each eye has a different glaucoma type or stage, and laterality is included in the codes, how many codes do you use?
Use a separate code for each eye.
If both eyes have different types of glaucoma and the codes don’t specify right or left, what do you do?
Use one code for each glaucoma type, each with the correct seventh character for the stage.
True or False: If glaucoma gets worse during a hospital stay, you should code the lowest stage recorded.
False. You code the highest stage documented during the stay.
If both eyes have the same glaucoma type but different stages and no laterality is shown, how do you code it?
Use two codes — one for each stage.
What does a seventh character of “4” mean for glaucoma staging?
Stage cannot be determined (indeterminate).
What does a seventh character of “0” mean for glaucoma staging?
Unspecified stage (no staging info provided).
If a patient is blind in both eyes and no specific category is stated, what code should you use?
H54.3 (Unqualified visual loss, both eyes)
If a patient is blind in one eye only and no category is stated, what code should be used?
H54.6- (Unqualified visual loss, one eye)
If a provider just documents “blindness” without saying which eye(s), what code should be used?
H54.7 (Unspecified visual loss)
