Coding Guidelines

Flashcards on coding conventions and abbreviations used in medical documentation.

Brackets

Found in the Tabular List, showing alternate terms or synonyms to provide additional detail or explanation to the description.

Slanted Brackets

Used in the Alphabetic Index, surrounding additional code(s) that must be included with the initial code.

Parenthesis

Used for optional terms or additional descriptors.

Colon

Used in the Tabular List, emphasizing that one or more of the following descriptors are required to make the code valid for the diagnosis.

NEC (Not Elsewhere Classified)

An abbreviation indicating that the code description does not precisely fit any existing specific code.

NOS (Not Otherwise Specified)

An abbreviation meaning that the documentation does not provide enough specific information to assign a more precise code, often prompting a query for more details.