Elective care type code N

Guide for use:

Elective surgery comprises elective care where the procedures required by patients are listed in the surgical operations section of the Medicare benefits schedule, with the exclusion of specific procedures frequently done by non-surgical clinicians.

Elective care is care that, in the opinion of the treating clinician, is necessary and admission for which can be delayed for at least twenty-four hours.

CODE 2     Other

Patients awaiting the following procedures should be classified as Code 2 - other:

• organ or tissue transplant procedures
• procedures associated with obstetrics (e.g. elective caesarean section, cervical suture)
• cosmetic surgery, i.e. when the procedure will not attract a Medicare rebate
• biopsy of:
  • kidney (needle only)
  • lung (needle only)
  • liver and gall bladder (needle only)
• bronchoscopy (including fibre-optic bronchoscopy)
• peritoneal renal dialysis;
• haemodialysis
• colonoscopy
• endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography (ERCP)
• endoscopy of:
  • biliary tract
  • oesophagus
  • small intestine
  • stomach
• endovascular interventional procedures
• gastroscopy
• miscellaneous cardiac procedures
• oesophagoscopy
• panendoscopy (except when involving the bladder)
• proctosigmoidoscopy
• sigmoidoscopy
• anoscopy
• urethroscopy and associated procedures
• dental procedures not attracting a Medicare rebate
• other diagnostic and non-surgical procedures.

These procedure terms are also defined by the ICD-10-AM (4th edition) codes which are listed under Comments below. This coded list is the recommended, but optional, method for determining whether a patient is classified as requiring elective surgery or other care.

CODE 1     Elective surgery

All other elective surgery should be included in this code.

Origin:
International Classification of Diseases - Tenth Revision - Australian Modification (4th edition, 2002) National Centre for Classification in Health, Sydney (ICD-10-AM (4th edition)).

Comments:

ICD-10-AM (4th edition) codes relating to the excluded procedues is available.