The Pulmonary Hypertension Consult: Clinical and Coding Considerations.
Chest. 2016 May 14;
Authors: Fritz JS, Smith KA
Abstract
Pulmonary hypertension is an increasingly recognized cause of morbidity and mortality and in the last 20 years there has been a rapid expansion in research and available therapies. Although it is defined quite simply as a mean pulmonary arterial pressure of 25 mm or greater, PH encompasses a heterogeneous group of disease processes. In the past, PH was classified as primary or secondary, but as understanding of the various contributing diseases has increased, classification systems have attempted to group these diseases by clinical features and disease mechanism. The evaluation of patients with suspected PH can be cumbersome but a careful and methodical approach is needed to ensure timely and accurate diagnosis, correct physiologic classification, and appropriate treatment. In this review, we will discuss the classification and diagnostic evaluation of PH in adults as well as some of the billing and coding considerations involved in this evaluation.
PMID: 27189309 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]