What documentation clarification is needed to support accurate coding of the record?

An 88-year-old male is admitted with a fever, cough, and leukocytosis. The physician documents admit for probable sepsis due to urinary tract infection (UTI). Antibiotics are started. Three days later, the blood and urine cultures are negative, the patient has been afebrile since admission, and the white blood count is returning to normal.

What documentation clarification is needed to support accurate coding of the record?
A . Send a clinical validation query for only the diagnosis of sepsis.
B . Send a clinical validation query for both the diagnoses of sepsis and UTI.
C . A clinical validation query is not required for either diagnosis.
D . Send a clinical validation query for only the diagnosis of UTI.

View Answer

Answer: B

Explanation:

According to the Guidelines for Achieving a Compliant Query Practice (2019 Update) – AHIMA1, clinical validation is a process by which documentation is evaluated to ensure that the medical record demonstrates enough clinical support for all documented diagnoses as mandated by the False Claims Act. If there is a lack of clinical support for sepsis or UTI within the documentation, a clinical validation query should be sent. Query choices should list sepsis or UTI as ruled out versus ruled in (because the physician is documenting sepsis or UTI), but the query choice should also ask the provider to provide additional clinical support within the medical record. Additional query choices that are supported by clinical indicators listed on the query should also be listed as appropriate1.

In this case, the patient was admitted with a fever, cough, and leukocytosis, which are signs and symptoms of sepsis or UTI. However, three days later, the blood and urine cultures are negative, the patient has been afebrile since admission, and the white blood count is returning to normal, which are indicators that sepsis or UTI may not be present or resolved. Therefore, there is a discrepancy between the documented diagnoses of sepsis and UTI and the clinical evidence in the record. A clinical validation query should be sent to clarify if sepsis and UTI are still valid diagnoses or if they have been ruled out after study. The query should also request additional documentation of any other clinical indicators that support the diagnosis of sepsis or UTI, such as vital signs, physical exam findings, inflammatory markers, imaging results, etc1.

References: Guidelines for Achieving a Compliant Query Practice (2019 Update) – AHIMA1