tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2018 Issue 6

You Be the Coder: Distinguish AIDS, HIV This Way

Question: How do I know when to code for AIDS (B20), not HIV (Z21)? Tennessee Subscriber Answer: The distinction between ICD-10 codes B20 (Human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] disease) and Z21 (Asymptomatic human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] infection status) is based on whether the physician documents that the patient infected with HIV is symptomatic. The physician might document a B20 diagnosis with terms such as acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), AIDS-related complex (ARC), or symptomatic HIV infection. The physician may also document specific illnesses that indicate AIDS. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) maintains a list "AIDS defining illness...

To read the full article, sign in and subscribe to tci General Surgery Coding Alert.

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