Final answer:
The 'Code Also' note in ICD-10-CM directs medical coders to use multiple codes when necessary to fully represent a patient's diagnosis. This is common in cases involving multiple body systems or both the cause and effect of a disease. ICD codes are found in medical laboratories and insurance billing departments.
Step-by-step explanation:
The 'Code Also' note in ICD-10-CM (International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification) is an instructional note that informs medical coders that they may need to record multiple codes to fully capture a patient's diagnostic condition. This situation often occurs when a single condition involves multiple body systems or when a disease process requires the recording of both an etiology and a manifestation. In practical terms, when a patient seeks treatment, the clinician may identify a primary diagnosis that needs to be expanded upon with additional codes to provide a complete picture of the patient's health status. For example, if a patient has a diabetic complication, such as diabetic neuropathy, the coder would use a code for the diabetes as well as a second code specifically for the neuropathy.
Two locations where one would likely find an ICD code include the medical laboratories where tests are ordered and interpreted based on these codes, and in the billing departments where the codes are used for processing insurance claims and reimbursements.