Bridgette Lawrence asked:
Does anyone have official guidelines on the appropriate time to use this code? Should the provider specify the duration of the chronic condition or the medication somewhere in the documentation or can it be assigned when a Diagnosis is found on the Active problem list or the medication is listed?
Answer:
Please see Tiffanys response:
"The guideline section I.C.21.c.3 states "Z79 Long-term (current) drug therapy Codes from this category indicate a patients continuous use of a prescribed drug (including such things as aspirin therapy) for the long-term treatment of a condition or for prophylactic use. It is not for use for patients who have addictions to drugs. This subcategory is not for use of medications for detoxification or maintenance programs to prevent withdrawal symptoms in patients with drug dependence (e.g.; methadone maintenance for opiate dependence). Assign the appropriate code for the drug dependence instead. Assign a code from Z79 if the patient is receiving a medication for an extended period as a prophylactic measure (such as for the prevention of deep vein thrombosis) or as treatment of a chronic condition (such as arthritis) or a disease requiring a lengthy course of treatment (such as cancer). Do not assign a code from category Z79 for the medication being administered for a brief period of time
to treat an acute illness or injury (such as a course of antibiotics to treat acute bronchitis)."
For example; a patient who takes levothyroxine for hypothyroidism or a patient with a history of breast cancer is taking Arimidex to prevent the recurrence of breast cancer. This would be considered long-term drug use."
Does anyone have official guidelines on the appropriate time to use this code? Should the provider specify the duration of the chronic condition or the medication somewhere in the documentation or can it be assigned when a Diagnosis is found on the Active problem list or the medication is listed?
Answer:
Please see Tiffanys response:
"The guideline section I.C.21.c.3 states "Z79 Long-term (current) drug therapy Codes from this category indicate a patients continuous use of a prescribed drug (including such things as aspirin therapy) for the long-term treatment of a condition or for prophylactic use. It is not for use for patients who have addictions to drugs. This subcategory is not for use of medications for detoxification or maintenance programs to prevent withdrawal symptoms in patients with drug dependence (e.g.; methadone maintenance for opiate dependence). Assign the appropriate code for the drug dependence instead. Assign a code from Z79 if the patient is receiving a medication for an extended period as a prophylactic measure (such as for the prevention of deep vein thrombosis) or as treatment of a chronic condition (such as arthritis) or a disease requiring a lengthy course of treatment (such as cancer). Do not assign a code from category Z79 for the medication being administered for a brief period of time
to treat an acute illness or injury (such as a course of antibiotics to treat acute bronchitis)."
For example; a patient who takes levothyroxine for hypothyroidism or a patient with a history of breast cancer is taking Arimidex to prevent the recurrence of breast cancer. This would be considered long-term drug use."
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