RE: [MARKETING] [EXTERNAL] postobstructive pneumonia

The application of a code for post-obstructive pneumonia only gets slightly better in ICD-10: J18.8 (Pneumonia type NEC). It is better than the 486 analog of J18.9. With J18.8, you would still need to code the obstructive process if at all possible (similar guidance to CC telling us to code the cause, if specified, in ICD-9).

When looking at the codes available in ICD-10, there are many more for pneumonia specificity than what is found in ICD-9. Now is a good time to work the specificity into our queries to help “cushion” the impact of ICD-10 for our providers!

Mark




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