Donna Garrett asked:
Pt has"morbid obesity; BMI 46." Doctor offered to refer him to bariatric. Answer page codes this as E66.01. The doctor did not say "excessive calories." I thought we were not supposed to code "excessive calories" unless specified. Or maybe it is assumed excessive calories because of referral to bariatric. But I thought we were not supposed to assume anything. I coded it as E66.8 Other obesity because it was specified as morbid obesity. Please clarify this for me and thank you.
Answer:
Hi Donna;
Thank you for your question. I can see where you are coming from in your approach. However; when you look for morbid obesity via the alphabetical index it shows the following:
obesity
morbid - E66.01
with
alveolar hypo-ventilation - E66.2
obesity hypo-ventilation syndrome (OHS) - E66.2
due to excess calories - E66.01
As you can see; both morbid obesity (unspecified) and morbid obesity due to excess calories are coded to the same way. If you look at clinical indications of morbid obesity; one will see that is due to excess caloric intake. Your body uses calories energy (e.g.; daily activities and exercise). When calories are not use; the body stores it as fat; therefore; one has an excess of calories.
Pt has"morbid obesity; BMI 46." Doctor offered to refer him to bariatric. Answer page codes this as E66.01. The doctor did not say "excessive calories." I thought we were not supposed to code "excessive calories" unless specified. Or maybe it is assumed excessive calories because of referral to bariatric. But I thought we were not supposed to assume anything. I coded it as E66.8 Other obesity because it was specified as morbid obesity. Please clarify this for me and thank you.
Answer:
Hi Donna;
Thank you for your question. I can see where you are coming from in your approach. However; when you look for morbid obesity via the alphabetical index it shows the following:
obesity
morbid - E66.01
with
alveolar hypo-ventilation - E66.2
obesity hypo-ventilation syndrome (OHS) - E66.2
due to excess calories - E66.01
As you can see; both morbid obesity (unspecified) and morbid obesity due to excess calories are coded to the same way. If you look at clinical indications of morbid obesity; one will see that is due to excess caloric intake. Your body uses calories energy (e.g.; daily activities and exercise). When calories are not use; the body stores it as fat; therefore; one has an excess of calories.
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