Thanks for input

Thank you so much to all of you who responded to my questions about
mortality review. I gained some valuable insight from what you posted.



Katy, I too am confused about palliative care code V66.7 and whether its
presence on the coding summary excludes cases from certain mortality
measures. I have not been able to find a valid reference that tells me
what the real deal is. I'm planning to talk to my quality department to
see if they can help me out.



Paul, the first case I reviewed yesterday was almost a carbon copy of
the one you posted. An elderly female presented with a massive ICH. The
CT scan showed brain herniation. All that was documented by the
attending was "massive ICH, unresponsiveness." Case as coded ROM 1 SOI
1. Adding coma and brain compression+ ROM 4 SOI 4. Excellent example.



Thank you again for your willingness to share your expertise. I read
these posts every day and have learned so much from so many of you.



Cathy Seluke, RN, BSN, ACM, CCDS

Supervisor Clinical Documentation Compliance

MaineGeneral Medical Center

Augusta and Waterville, Maine

(207) 872-1796

Cathy.Seluke@mainegeneral.org

Comments

  • Cathy: Excellent!

    It is gratifying to learn you were successful with your "carbon case". (We have one today with the same scenario, patient with a 'massive midline shift' due to ICH, 3% hypertonic Saline with goal sodium 140-150 and burr holes to evacuate).

    It seems somewhat common to use the term midline shift rather than edema or hernia of the brain. Our radiologist termed this a hernia.

    Paul Evans, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P, CCDS

    Manager, Regional Clinical Documentation & Coding Integrity
    633 Folsom St., 7th Floor, Office 7-044
    San Francisco, CA 94107
    Cell: 415.637.9002
    Fax: 415.600.1325
    Ofc: 415.600.3739
    evanspx@sutterhealth.org

  • edited May 2016
    In the clinical world, "mid-line shift" tells us a great deal of information related to the severity of the situation. The clinical picture just deteriorated significantly! The case becomes far more complex than "just" a CVA pt with cerebral edema. The risk of brain stem herniation and the complexity of the other neurological issues complicate treatment and can produce poor outcomes!. The example you gave: pt with unresponsiveness and herniation... classic massive ICH with mid-line shift... grave outlook to say the least....)

    Wish we could use words like "massive" and "mid-line shift" to reflect the severity of illness and risk of mortality... the letters "CVA" just doesn't do a condition justice sometimes! Just Like the term "extremis"- we still need a code for that one! (Google it... you know you want to...J)

    Have a good weekend!!!!!!!!-V

    Vicki S. Davis, RN CDS
    Clinical Documentation Improvement Manager
    Health Information Management Department
    Alamance Regional Medical Center
    Office (336) 586-3765
    Ascom Mobile (336) 586-4191
    Fax (336) 538-7428
    vdavis2@armc.com

    "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug."- Samuel "Mark Twain" Clemens

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