Question

For patients with secondary diabetes mellitus who routinely use insulin or oral hypoglycemic drugs, an additional code from category Z79 should be assigned to identify the long-term (current) use of insulin or oral hypoglycemic drugs. If the patient is treated with both oral medications and insulin, only the code for long-term (current) use of insulin should be assigned.

a. True b. False

Answer 1

It is true that for patients with secondary diabetes mellitus who use insulin or oral hypoglycemic drugs, only the code for long-term use of insulin should be assigned if they are treated with both. Insulin is crucial in diabetes management and takes precedence in medical coding when both treatment types are used.

Step-by-step explanation:

For patients with secondary diabetes mellitus who routinely use insulin or oral hypoglycemic drugs, an additional code from category Z79 should indeed be assigned to identify the long-term (current) use of these medications. If the patient is being treated with both oral medications and insulin, it is correct that only the code for the long-term (current) use of insulin should be assigned. This is because insulin therapy is critical in diabetes management, especially in cases where oral medications alone are insufficient to control blood sugar levels.

Insulin is essential for people with type 1 diabetes to regulate their blood sugar levels and is also used in some cases of type 2 diabetes when lifestyle changes and oral medications are not enough to maintain glucose control. Hence, insulin use is prioritized in coding for medical records and insurance purposes.