Does the doctors office have to provide the patients chief complaint or reason for office visit when submitting a non-gyn specimens even if we dont know the diagnoses?
Yes. From the General Coding Guidelines, AMA 2005 ICD-9-CM: Codes that describe symptoms and signs, as opposed to diagnoses, are acceptable for reporting purposes when a related definitive diagnosis has not been established (confirmed) by the physician. This information is necessary for the laboratory to properly file a claim with your patients insurance.
