Posted on Tuesday, September 5, 2017 5:28 PM
Have you noticed that there has been a lot of documented diabetic hypertension or hypertension due to diabetes? This is not coded as E11.9 and I10. When you see this documented, the hypertension becomes secondary hypertension. See the correct coding for hypertension due to diabetes below.
E11.59 Diabetes with circulatory complications
I15.2 Hypertension due to endocrine disorders
The sequencing is optional based on the focus of care due to the presence of the “code also” convention located under secondary hypertension. It is acceptable for secondary hypertension to be primary if that is the focus of care. Notice that secondary hypertension does not have a subterm “with” in the index. This means the common assumptions we make with hypertension, do not apply to secondary hypertension. If this patient also had chronic kidney disease, we would code it as related to diabetes but not hypertension. Mary Deakle, BCHH-C, COS-C, Manager of Compliance and Education says, ” Remember the codes should be as specific as the documentation and query the physician if you are ever unsure.”
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