A dietitian documents a BMI value, but the provider never documents overweight or obesity. How should the facility coder handle BMI-related coding?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
BMI is the measuring tape; obesity is the diagnosis. Tape measurements from nutrition are useful, but you usually still need the provider to document overweight or obesity before BMI rides along as an additional code.
Full Explanation
ICD-10-CM guidelines treat BMI codes as additional codes that are typically reported with a provider diagnosis of overweight or obesity. A dietitian BMI value alone does not justify inventing an obesity diagnosis. Coders should not ignore valid BMI documentation when the associated diagnosis is present, but they also should not create obesity codes from nutrition data only.