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After reading the attached article, do you agree with the author? Why or Why Not? Support your agreement or disagreement by providing an article that shares an example of an unspecified ICD-10-CM code. What are the more specific code/s that should be used instead of the unspecified code in the article you attached? Discuss with your peers why this would be a more related coding choice.

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Final answer:

Disagreement with the use of unspecified ICD-10-CM codes is common, as specific codes provide better information for patient care and health-care management. More specific ICD codes allow for accurate records and efficient processing in systems like medical laboratories and healthcare management. Illustrating with a viral infection, the code for an unspecified viral infection should be replaced with a specific one after diagnosis.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question is regarding the agreement or disagreement with an author's point of view on the use of unspecified ICD-10-CM codes in healthcare. To provide a well-informed opinion, one example of an unspecified ICD-10-CM code use is when a patient is treated for a viral infection without a specific diagnosis. In this case, a more precise code should be utilized after laboratory tests confirm the specific virus causing the illness, such as Influenza due to identified influenza virus instead of a general Viral Infection code. Utilizing more specific codes such as B34.9 (Viral infection, unspecified) only after thorough examination and testing ensures accurate patient records, proper treatment, and efficient health-care management including reimbursement processing.

Two locations where ICD codes are likely to be found are medical laboratories and health-care management systems. In medical laboratories, ICD codes identify required tests for proper diagnosis; while in health-care management systems, these codes help verify the appropriateness of treatments and laboratory work performed.

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