Anesthesia Coding: Use V15.80 For Personal History Of Failed Moderate Sedation

By Author: Julia Rose
Total Articles: 89
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ICD-9 2010 comes with a breather for all those who are tired of submitting medical necessity letters to support providing anesthesia to a patient who couldn't tolerate sedation.


This is because ICD-9 2010 provides stage-specific codes for gout and gives individual codes for irritability and two buckle fractures.


Report history code to support anesthesia rather than sedation; a gastroenterologist wants your anesthesiologist to provide anesthesia for a patient undergoing a colonoscopy because the patient has had a previously failed moderate sedation session. Here you need to explain the circumstances so that the insurer covers the anesthesia.


But with ICD-9 2010, you can rest assured as it brings a specific code that paints this picture. Code V15.80 (personal history of failed moderate sedation) will be apt here.


Code V15.80 could justify the presence and payment of anesthesia services after conscious sedation failed. With this, anesthesiologist will say, I'm here because the surgeon wasn't able to do it.


In the above-mentioned colonoscopy ...
... scenario, you'd report the colonoscopy anesthesia diagnosis first, followed by the personal history code. V15.80 will probably be justification to pay for anesthesia services for a colonoscopy under most plans.


The surgeon, who carried out the original procedure in which the moderate sedation was not effective would use code 995.24 (failed moderate sedation during procedure). Looking ahead, this patient will have a history of failed moderate sedation.


For more stage-specific codes pertaining to anesthesia, you can go for anesthesia coding seminars and conferences. In fact, this December, you can head to Orlando, FL, where you can be part of an anesthesia coding conference and give more specificity to your coding.


Keep on updating your knowledge about anesthesiology coding by attending anesthesiology coding conference with premier coding experts, CDs, tapes and transcripts of coding training information by specialty.