Healthcare facilities across the world are faced with myriad challenges as they aim to diagnose and treat cases of COVID-19. HHS and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) have instituted several changes during the nationwide public health emergency, some of which modify HIPAA laws and directly impact healthcare organizations around the country.
It’s Monday morning and case manager Kim is sitting in her office. She starts her day by printing her patient care unit census. She reads through each of the patient names on the census when one catches her attention.
Q: Is there is any guidance on ICD-10-CM reporting for screening for COVID-19? For example, a patient was admitted with pneumonia and the physician documented “COVID-19 screening completed–NEGATIVE.” Would it be appropriate to assign ICD-10-CM code Z11.59 (encounter for screening for other viral diseases) for this?
