Q&A How exactly are conditions inherent to a disease(which are not coded) vs manifestations determined?

[SHARI]

I have trouble differentiating inherencies and manifestations. Use THIAMINE DEFICIENCY DUE TO CHRONIC ALCOHOLISM, I now know to code both. Or EXOPTHALMUS IN GRAVE'S DISEASE? Or HYPOGLYCEMIA in Diabetes? How do the cooperating parties determine this? Thx, Shari

 

[Ruth Sheets]

I can see why you have this question. I would imagine the disease statisticians and physicians who need to keep track of the disease within the population propose the rules according to their needs, and discuss it at length before they decide how things should be coded. The coder needs experience to get it right! I often look through the whole index entry in the ICD-9 manual for a disease "with" of "due to" to get going in the right direction. I also investigate WebMD and other sights for the list of common symptoms. But experience is indeed a major factor in coding things correctly, IMHO. Over time it will get easier as you code more and more charts.