tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2001 Issue 6

Reader Question: Rectal Bleeding Versus Blood in Stool

Question: What is the difference between ICD-9 codes 569.3 (hemorrhage of rectum and anus) and 578.1?Arizona SubscriberAnswer: The main difference between the two codes is the original source of the bleeding, says M. Trayser Dunaway, MD, a general surgeon in Camden, S.C. When a patient has blood in the stool, the source of the bleeding is usually somewhere upstream, in the gastrointestinal tract. When the source of the bleeding is the rectum or anus, the blood would not typically be inside the stool, but rather would visibly coat the outside. The difference between the two...

To read the full article, sign in and subscribe to tci General Surgery Coding Alert.


Leverage vital, to-the-point monthly guidance to boost your reporting accuracy and your coding know-how. We make it convenient for your team to stay informed, compliant, and profitable with a subscription to TCI’s General Surgery Coding Alert.

  • Current newsletters added each month
  • Fully searchable archives - over 2100 articles
  • ALL years/issues back to 1999 organized by year and issue
  • Codes mentioned in articles are linked to Code Information pages
  • Code Information pages link back to related articles
Access to this feature is available in the following products:
  • tci General Surgery Coding Alert +Archives

demo
request yours today
 subscribe
start today
 newsletter
free subscription

Thank you for choosing Find-A-Code, please Sign In to remove ads.