I'm hoping somebody can help me solve a quandary with documentation and coding.
For patients with Severe Sepsis in whom an elevated lactate is the only organ dysfunction noted, are you able to use the 995.92 (severe sepsis code) at discharge? We are being told by our coding team that the code 995.92 requires simultaneous use of an organ dysfunction code, and that there is no such code for elevated lactate that would apply. In this instance, the coders would be required to query the physician. Have others come across this as a problem? How have you addressed it? Thanks very much, Joe Joseph Clement RN, MS, CCNS Clinical Nurse Specialist San Francisco General Hospital phone: (415) 206-6174 pager: (415) 327-0220 [email protected]
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