Health Information Management

Tip: Coding otitis media in ICD-10-CM

APCs Insider, May 23, 2014

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Otitis media is the inflammation of the middle ear. This condition can be suppurative or non-suppurative; acute or chronic. A lack of treatment can result in a perforation of the tympanic membrane. While otitis media is common in children, it is not exclusively a childhood condition. Interestingly, its prevalence increases during the winter in comparison to an increase of otitis externa (inflammation of external ear) in the summer.
Antibiotic therapy is the first line in the standard of care for otitis media. ICD-10-CM code category H66.- (suppurative and unspecified otitis media) requires additional characters to report details, including:
  • Acute or chronic
  • Suppurative or non-suppurative
  • With or without rupture of the eardrum
  • Laterality
This tip is adapted from “ICD-10-CM anatomy refresher: Ears” in the May issue of Briefings on APCs.
 



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