AHA Coding Clinic® for ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS - 2016 Issue 1

Selection of Principal Diagnosis for Vaginal Delivery

The Central Office has received numerous requests regarding selection of the principal diagnosis for obstetric cases when a vaginal delivery occurs. Coders are misinterpreting the guideline that states in part, “when a delivery occurs, the principal diagnosis should correspond to the main circumstances or complication of the delivery” by sequencing a condition that arises during the delivery as principal diagnosis, regardless of the reason for admission. When an obstetric patient is admitted, the condition that prompted the admission should be sequenced as the principal diagnosis. A code for any complication of the delivery should be assigned as an...

To read the full article, sign in and subscribe to AHA Coding Clinic® for ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS .

Thank you for choosing Find-A-Code, please Sign In to remove ads.