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Test Your Knowledge – True or False: Conventions, general, and chapter-specific guidelines – August 2017

August 31, 2017

Answers to Code First coding convention:

Scenario 1:


Etiology code = O99.212: Obesity complicating pregnancy, second trimester
Manifestation code = E66.01: Morbid (severe) obesity due to excess calories

Scenario 2:


Etiology code = M89.441: Other hypertrophic osteoarthropathy, right hand and M89.442: Other hypertrophic osteoarthropathy, left hand
Manifestation code = L62: Nail disorders in diseases classified elsewhere

Scenario 3:


Etiology code = T56.1X4A: Toxic effect of mercury and its compounds, undetermined, initial encounter
Manifestation code = K52.1: Toxic gastroenteritis and colitis

Answers to True or False: Conventions, general, and chapter-specific guidelines

  1. The placeholder character ?X? is used as a placeholder for certain codes for future expansion.
    1. True
    2. False
  2. Brackets are used in the Tabular List to make suggestions.
    1. True
    2. False
  3. To properly code a neoplasm, it is necessary to determine from the medical record if the neoplasm is benign, in-situ, malignant, or of uncertain histologic behavior. If malignant, any secondary (metastatic) sites should also be determined.
    1. True
    2. False
  4. Codes titled ?other? or ?other specified? are used when the information in the medical record provides detail for which a specific code does not exist.
    1. True
    2. False
  5. Codes from category G81: Hemiplegia and hemiparesis and subcategories G83.1: Monoplegia of lower limb, G83.2: Monoplegia of upper limb, and G83.3: Monoplegia, unspecified identify whether the dominant or non-dominant side is affected. Should the affected side be documented, but not specified as dominant or non-dominant, and the classification system does not indicate a default, code selection is as follows:
    • for ambidextrous patients, the default should be dominant;
    • if the left side is affected, the default is non-dominant;
    • if the right side is affected, the default is dominant.
    1. True
    2. False
  6. To locate a code, you must first look in the Tabular List and then the Alphabetic Index.
    1. True
    2. False
  7. A three-character code in ICD-10 is invalid.
    1. True
    2. False
  8. If a patient is admitted for a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related condition, the principal diagnosis should be B20: HIV disease followed by additional diagnosis codes for all reported HIV-related conditions.
    1. True
    2. False
  9. The abbreviation for NOS (not otherwise specified) is the equivalent of unspecified.
    1. True
    2. False
  10. Codes that describe signs and symptoms, as opposed to diagnoses, are acceptable for reporting when a definitive diagnosis has not been confirmed by the provider.
    1. True
    2. False

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