Journalists working on stories related to high-risk pregnancies or the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine can contact Greg Phillips, Director of Communications, at press@smfm.org for referrals to MFM experts and to request additional information. The press office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM ET.
Performance of KCL intramniotic/intracardiac injection to arrest the fetal heart, prior to a termination procedure is a coding challenge. Common MFM practice is to provide the KCL injection into the fetal heart with ultrasound guidance only in the office or pre-operatively. In the majority of... Continue Reading
Placenta accreta is defined as an abnormal invasion of all or part of the placenta into the myometrial wall of the uterus. Placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) is the more current terminology to refer to the range of abnormal placental invasion that includes placenta accreta, increta and percreta. ... Continue Reading
The global maternity care package includes all the services normally provided in uncomplicated maternity cases. There are services that may or may not relate to the pregnancy which are outside of the Global OB care and should be reported separately. These include but not limited... Continue Reading
A vanishing twin (or fetal resorption) is a fetus in a multi-gestation that fails to develop or dies in utero and is then partially or completely resorbed. Fetal numbering is most commonly determined by ultrasound. The baby positioned lowest in the uterus is usually given the designation of... Continue Reading
Twin gestations may deliver on the same day or there may be a time interval between the delivery of the first and second twins. Which ICD-10 to associate with the delivery will depend on whether the twins are delivered on the same day or on separate days, and whether they are both born alive or if... Continue Reading
ccording to the ICD-10cm official guidelines for coding and reporting (fiscal year 2018) Chapter 15: pregnancy, Childbirth and the Puerperium; section 4. (e.g., page 19 of 117), if multiple conditions prompted the admission, sequence the one most related to the delivery as the principal... Continue Reading
Important Tips: 1. It will be relatively rare for an MFM physician to bill global obstetric care, because some portion of the antepartum service will have typically been provided by an obstetrician unaffiliated withhis/her practice. The most common occasion in which it will occur is when an MFM... Continue Reading
Cerclage placement may be indicated based on 1) obstetrical history of cervical insufficiency; 2) physical examination findings concerning for cervical insufficiency; or 3) for a history of preterm birth with ultrasound evidence of cervical shortening. In recent years, placement of exam or... Continue Reading
Telemedicine is the delivery of medical care or services from a distant site. Telemedicine provides two-way, communication between a patient and healthcare provider at a distant site. The communication is supported by audio and video equipment that allows a physician at the main hospital/office to... Continue Reading
In many cases, MFM providers may only be involved in the management of a pregnant patient but do not perform the actual delivery. Typically, the delivery codes that are used to submit a claim after delivery include complete global services (Admission, delivery management, postpartum care, and... Continue Reading
Certain MFM providers may only bill fee for service in the management of a pregnant patient but do not do the actual delivery. Typically, all delivery codes include global services upon delivery (Admission, delivery management, postpartum care, and discharge). When this occurs, unbundling then... Continue Reading
Nationwide, there are MFM providers who only bill fee for service in the management of a pregnant patient including delivery planning but do not actually deliver. Unfortunately, all delivery codes include global services upon delivery (Admission, delivery management and the discharge). When this... Continue Reading
