When it comes to mastering the science of medical billing for eye pain and other ocular complications, you need to know how to select the right ICD-9 codes example ICD-9 code for Incontinence.
In most cases, selecting the right ICD-9 codes for common diseases and health problems is not a big deal. But there are several conditions, including eye pain, that are difficult to map and accurately code for reimbursement purposes.
ICD 9 Codes for Eye Pain
In most cases, it is easy to determine the terms used for ocular diseases and eye complications from the patient history. Nevertheless, the ICD 9 codes describe the symptoms as well which are important to familiarize with:
- Eye Pain (in around the eye) – 379.91
- Blurred Vision – 368.8
- Dry Eyes – 375.15
- Visual Discomfort – 368.13
In this article, we discuss some of the common conditions related to the eye, their diagnosis, and the respective ICD 9 code for eye pain to ensure accurate billing and reimbursement for cases.
Overview
Eye problems are fairly common and most are minor issues that do not last long. But there are some eye problems that can become serious if left unchecked and can lead to permanent loss of vision. Some of the most common eye problems include:
- Chronic eye pain
- Macular degeneration
- Cataracts
- Dry eyes
- Glaucoma
- Conjunctivitis
Your best defense is to have regular checkups and visit U Control Billing because eye diseases do not always have symptoms. The best way to prevent vision loss is early detection and treatment by visiting your healthcare provider or an eye care professional as soon as you feel a change in your vision. Other symptoms include double vision, pain, inflammation, and fluid coming from the eye.
Chronic Eye Pain
According to the American Eye Institute, more than 3 million Americans experience chronic eye pain, which means that this condition is quite prevalent. Chronic pain has been identified to be more likely in patients having ocular sensory apparatus dysfunction of neuropathic ocular pain. Dysfunction reveals itself through allodynia, spontaneous dysesthesias, hyperalgesia as well as functional and morphologic abnormalities of the corneal nerve.
Dry Macular Degeneration
This is a fairly common disorder found in people over the age of 50. It is attributed to the thinning of the macula, causing reduced central and blurry vision. The macula is the part of the retina responsible for clear vision in your direct line of sight.
Cataracts
Cataracts are a condition caused when the lens in the eye becomes foggy. The natural eye lens is normally clear, which is crucial for you to see since light passes through the clear lens. The lens is used to focus the light and helps the brain to process the information and form a picture. A cataract clouds over the lens which means that your eye cannot focus light the same way, leading to blurred vision or even vision loss.
Glaucoma
Glaucoma consists of a group of eye conditions that damage the optic nerve. The health of the optic nerve is essential for good vision, so once it is damaged, it can lead to impaired vision. The damage is usually caused by abnormally high pressure on the eye. Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness for people over the age of 60.
Dry Eyes
Dry eye, on the surface, appears to be a simple matter – the result of the eyes not producing the required supply of tears or the result of tears evaporating too soon from the cornea surface. But, as you know, it causes pain and itchiness and could result in inflammation, scars, or ulcers on the cornea.
Conjunctivitis
Conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, is an infection of the transparent membrane that lines your eyelid. Even though the condition is irritating, it rarely affects the vision. When small blood vessels in the conjunctiva become inflamed, they’re more visible. This is what causes the whites of your eyes to appear reddish or pink.
Diagnosing Eye Pain
Sometimes, the cause of discomfort or pain in the eye is not obvious, for which your doctor would run additional tests. A general physician might prescribe medication to ease the pain caused by many of the most common conditions, including dry eyes, and conjunctivitis.
If the cause of pain is some other condition, your doctor may recommend you to see an ophthalmologist for further treatment. Ophthalmologists are eye specialists and have specialized equipment to detect the pressure in the eyeballs. If the pressure is building dangerously fast, an ophthalmologist will be helpful in reaching a diagnosis and beginning treatment quickly.
ICD 9 Code Set
The International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, is the official system of identifying and assigning code to medical procedures and diagnoses in the US. Until recent years, the ICD-9 was used to classify and code mortality data from death certificates, which has now been effectively replaced by the ICD-10 code set.
The ICD-9-CM consists of:
- A tabular list containing a numerical list of the disease code numbers in tabular form;
- An alphabetical index to the disease entries; and
- A classification system for surgical, diagnostic, and therapeutic procedures (alphabetic index and tabular list).
The ICD 9 code set was effectively replaced by the ICD 10 in 2015. However, the cases which are before that time, use the ICD 9 for medical billing and reimbursement.
A couple of years ago, I executed the effective plan of creating a Medical billing and Coding company named U Control Billing. The company aims to bring revolutionary advancements to foster medical billing and coding revenues. As an official member of HIA-LI and MGMA, I feel honored in providing networking opportunities, problem-solving, and improving the revenue management cycle.
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