April is observed as National STD (sexually transmitted diseases) Awareness Month in the United States. The annual observance is an opportunity to raise public awareness about the impact of sexually transmitted diseases on the lives of Americans and the importance of preventing, testing and treating STDs.
Sexually transmitted diseases are a major public health issue in the United States. According to reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 20 million new cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) occur in the US each year, almost half of them among young people in the age group of 15- 24 years. It is estimated that there are more than 110 million STIs among men and women (that includes both new and existing infections).
The month-long campaign aims to spread word about the prevention of STDs by highlighting the risks associated with the infections, promoting individual involvement and sponsoring activities. The theme of 2015 STD awareness campaign is “Know the Facts and GYT: Get Yourself Tested”.
The campaign is a youth–oriented, empowering social movement that encourages young people to get tested and treated for STD and HIV. The materials associated with the campaign have been developed specially for physicians, healthcare departments, school administrators and community-based organizations to help young people enhance their knowledge about STD prevention and testing.
The event is a collaborative effort of the American College of Health Association (ACHA), Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), MTV, National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD) and Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), combined with technical consultation sponsored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It provides young people with the information and resources that they need to take control of their sexual and reproductive health.
GYT campaign will be celebrated in community organizations, health care centers and departments across the country by hosting a series of events such as seminars, education workshops, presentations, displaying posters and generating awareness through social media platforms.
Generally, sexually transmitted diseases, or sexually transmitted infections (STIs), are acquired by sexual contact. The organisms that cause these infections may pass from one person to another through blood, semen or vaginal and other bodily fluids. On the other hand, some infections can be transmitted nonsexually such as from mother to infants at some point in pregnancy or childbirth or through blood transfusions or shared needles. The common causes associated with this condition include sexual activity, bacteria (gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia), parasites (trichomoniasis) and viruses (human papillomavirus, genital herpes, HIV).
STD – Tests and Diagnosis
There are different signs and symptoms associated with this condition such as painful or burning sensation during urination, lower abdominal pain, sores or bumps on the genitals, odd-smelling vaginal discharge and more. But, most of these go unnoticed until serious complications occur.
It is estimated that about 1 in 4 new infections occurs among youth and young adults between the age group of 13-24 years. People who are infected with STDs are about 2-5 times more likely than their uninfected peers to contract HIV. Timely recognition of symptoms and regular testing for STDs is important to protect your health. Early diagnosis of symptoms will help in better management of infection.
Physicians play a crucial role in improving patient’s health outcomes through early diagnosis, management and referral. If not treated, some STDs can lead to serious health complications. These physicians perform different tests such as blood tests, urine samples and fluid samples in order to identify the cause and detect co-infections a person might have contracted. The different screening guidelines recommend that HIV testing must be conducted for everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 at least once, and more frequently for high-risk groups.
Medicare Coverage
Medicare provides coverage for sexually transmitted infection (STI) screenings for chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and/or Hepatitis B once every 12 months or at certain times during pregnancy. In addition, Medicare covers up to 2 individual 20 to 30 minute, face-to-face, high-intensity behavioral counseling sessions each year for sexually active adults at high risk for STIs.
Physicians need to have a thorough understanding about the new guidelines or practices for medical billing and coding. Accurate diagnostic and procedural codes must be reported on the claims to receive on-time and correct reimbursement.
For instance, physicians while billing for human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] use the following ICD-codes –
ICD-9 codes
- V65.44 – Counseling provided during the encounter for the test
- V73.89 – Special screening for other specified viral diseases (Patient seen to determine his/ her HIV status)
- V69.8 – Other problems related to lifestyle (Asymptomatic patient in a known high-risk group for HIV)
- V08 – Asymptomatic HIV infection status (Returning patient informed of his/her HIV positive test results AND patient is asymptomatic)
ICD-10 codes
- B20 Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease
- Z21 Asymptomatic human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection status
- Z20.6 Contact with and (suspected) exposure to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
- Z71.7 Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) counseling
- Z11.4 Encounter for screening for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
- R75 Inconclusive laboratory evidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
A physician providing treatment for illness related to HIV will have to report B20 first and then include the specific code for the illness being treated. If the illness is not related to the patient’s HIV, the condition treated has to be reported first, and B20 second.
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