Why ICD-10 codes are important
Used for medical claim reporting in all healthcare settings, ICD-10-CM is a standardized classification system of diagnosis codes that represent conditions and diseases, related health problems, abnormal findings, signs and symptoms, injuries, external causes of injuries and diseases, and social circumstances.
Unspecified atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation; Atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response. ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code I48.91. Unspecified atrial fibrillation. 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Billable/Specific Code. ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code I48.0 [convert to ICD-9-CM] Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.
The ICD-10-CM is a catalog of diagnosis codes used by medical professionals for medical coding and reporting in health care settings. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) maintain the catalog in the U.S. releasing yearly updates.
In ICD-10-CM, there are four codes to report atrial fibrillation:
Atrial fibrillation is an irregular heartbeat or arrhythmia sometimes called a quivering heart. This arrhythmia can cause a patient to develop blood clots, have a stroke, heart failure or other conditions. The heart rate is most often rapid and causes poor blood flow. When a patient is in atrial fibrillation, the upper chambers of the heart (atria) are beating differently than the lower chambers (ventricles). When this occurs, the irregular rhythm/heartbeat, prohibits the atria from contracting/relaxing and causes ineffectual filling and emptying of the ventricles. This is referred to often as a chaotic dysrhythmia.
I48.2 is used to report atrial fibrillation when specified as chronic or permanent (Will be expanded 10/1/19)
Atrial fibrillation is still reported in patients that are not currently experiencing the erratic rhythm as long as the patient is requiring ongoing medication to help control the rate. Atrial fibrillation is very common in postoperative patients and should be verified as a complication before coding as such.
Sometimes treating and controlling the underlying cause will make the atrial fibrillation go away. If this does not help the erratic rhythm, then the patient may require treatment with beta blockers and calcium channel blockers to help slow the heart rate. The rhythm should be restored to a normal rhythm to reduce the high heart rate.