Diagnoses such as dementia, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, delirium, dementia with Lewy bodies, depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and other mental/neurological disorders are common in home health patients. So why do we get so anxious about coding them?

These mental/neuro conditions always pose a challenge to coders and clinicians when it comes to correct diagnosis assignment and sequencing diagnosis selection can be a little confusing. We always have lots of questions about coding these conditions:

• Why can’t I code dementia first?
• How do I code dementia with Lewy bodies?
• Is dementia the same as delirium?
• What’s the difference between Parkinsonism and Parkinson’s disease?
• What should I code when the patient has anxiety and depression?
• How do I code altered mental status?
• When can I code chronic pain?

Knowing the answer to questions like those above is critical to coding these mental/neuro diagnoses correctly. The assignment and sequencing of diagnosis codes, such as dementia, impacts the plan of care, may impact the risk adjustment of an agency’s outcomes and may also impact the agency’s reimbursement. Getting diagnoses right means selecting the right diagnosis codes, choosing the correct OASIS responses, and providing the documentation that supports them both.

This free webinar will focus on providing participants with the key steps in assignment of these common home health diagnoses using the ICD-10-CM classification system and the official guidelines governing the coding and sequencing of mental and neurological conditions. Attendees will be able to apply the ICD-10 guidelines and test their understanding of the assignment of mental/neuro diagnosis codes using short scenarios throughout the webinar.