{"id":769,"date":"2013-02-15T13:28:12","date_gmt":"2013-02-15T13:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/?p=769"},"modified":"2026-05-07T07:12:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T12:12:03","slug":"a-brief-explanation-of-combination-codes-the-billingparadise-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/a-brief-explanation-of-combination-codes-the-billingparadise-way\/","title":{"rendered":"ICD-10 Combination Codes Explained: A Medical Billing Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/h2>\n

Explanation of Combination Codes<\/h2>\n

ICD-10 will be soon upon us, and it is highly likely that a majority of the new food for thought<\/i> will go undigested when the time comes.\u00a0 \u00a0Besides the 5-fold increase in the number of codes, many new paradigms of coding will be operational; the most significant of this would be the concept of \u201cCombination Coding\u201d.<\/p>\n

What are Combination Codes?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

In short, combination codes would be those ICD-10 CM codes which would be utilized to represent \u201cthe etiology along with its manifestations\u201d <\/i>or \u201cthe diagnosis and the symptoms\u201d<\/i> within a single code<\/span>. \u00a0In ICD-9, this would normally involve the generation of secondary codes (along with the added confusion).\u00a0 Not to mention the endless rules of each of the payers when it comes to reimbursing such situations. To help practices navigate these payer-specific requirements efficiently, many RCM vendors now offer prior authorization services<\/a><\/strong> that take over the responsibility of securing payer approvals before services are rendered.<\/p>\n

In most cases when \u201cboth preventative and management services\u201d were performed at the same visit, only one of the codes usually gets reimbursed by the payer.\u00a0\u00a0 This is despite no mention being made about the same in their payer contracts.\u00a0 This situation is believed to improve with the use of a single code in ICD-10 CM.<\/p>\n

Examples of A Combination Code<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
    \n
  • \n
      \n
    • \u00a0K50.112: \u00a0Crohn\u2019s disease of large intestine with intestinal obstruction.<\/strong><\/li>\n
    • T36.0x1D: \u00a0Poisoning by penicillins, accidental (unintentional), subsequent encounter.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      A combination code like always can be determined by looking at the alphabetical index first, then at the indentations, and finally verifying the code in the tabular index, making sure the code accurately covers the entire gamut of the cause and effect factors. \u00a0If still the code fails to cover the entirety of the condition, then a secondary code shall be used.<\/p>\n

      Coding with an EMR<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

      Most new-age EMRs, like PracticeFusion-Kareo, have inbuilt scrubbing software that takes care of the basic inconsistencies, like missing diagnosis, missing parent codes in add-on codes, validity of the codes, <\/i>and the like.\u00a0<\/span> But they can never entirely do away with the expertise of an experienced coding staff, whose supervision is essential for complex scenarios (like assigning combination codes) and to make sure you code for maximal reimbursements.<\/p>\n

      No matter what certain CAC softwares claim (some using NLP technology), the front end of the coding world will always be manned by knowledgeable and experienced coders.<\/p>\n

      BillingParadise In Conjunction With Kareo<\/span><\/h3>\n

      BillingParadise is one of the few medical billing vendor<\/i>s who have been fortunate enough to have the best of both the worlds<\/span>, a partnership with one of the foremost EMR companies, Practice Fusion-Kareo, along with one of the most skillful medical billing and medical coding<\/span><\/span>team.<\/p>\n

      This is in fact the most optimal recipe for getting that \u201cthought food<\/i>\u201d that we had mentioned earlier, digested.\u00a0\u00a0 Call us at 1-888-571-9069 or<\/i> email steve@billingparadise.com<\/i><\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0 and allow us to do wonders to your bottom-line.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>[vc_empty_space][vc_raw_html]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[\/vc_raw_html][vc_raw_js]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[\/vc_raw_js]<\/div><\/div><\/section>

       <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Explanation of Combination Codes ICD-10 will be soon upon us, and it is highly likely that a majority of the new food for thought will go undigested when the time comes.\u00a0 \u00a0Besides the 5-fold increase in the number of codes, many new paradigms of coding will be operational; the most significant of this would be [...]","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":785,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[745],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=769"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":451192,"href":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769\/revisions\/451192"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}