When we first implemented ICD-10, we all had a lot of fun with the ICD-10-CM external cause codes. But, do we need to use them?

The answer to that is no according to the official guidelines and yes if your payers require them.

Here is what the official ICD-10-CM guidelines say,

“There is no national requirement for mandatory ICD-10-CM external cause code reporting. Unless a provider is subject to a state-based external cause reporting mandate or these codes are required by a particular payer, reporting ICD-10-CM codes in Chapter 20, External Causes of Morbidity is not required.”