Topics in Practice ManagementThe Pulmonary Hypertension Consult: Clinical and Coding Considerations

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is an increasingly recognized cause of morbidity and mortality, and in the past 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 Hg, 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, and a careful and methodical approach is needed to ensure timely and accurate diagnosis, correct physiological classification, and appropriate treatment. In this review, we discuss the classification and diagnostic evaluation of PH in adults as well as some of the billing and coding considerations involved in this evaluation.