ICD-10-CM coding Archives

ICD-10-CM Update | Webinar

Event date: September 25th, 2025

Guest Presenter Shannon McCall, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P, CPC, CEMC, CRC, CCDS, CCDS-O

ICD-10-CM updates are here and effective starting October 1, 2025. This webinar will describe changes to the all-important ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting.

Diagnosis Coding for Antepartum Care

Question: Patient seen for antepartum care but delivered at 38 weeks at a different hospital/physician group. What diagnosis codes should we use for the visits before the birth episode. Answer: The diagnosis coding for antepartum care would be specific to the patient’s condition at the time care was provided. If at the time of the […]

Aftercare and Follow-Up: ICD-10-CM Coding

Aftercare visit codes are assigned in situations in which the initial treatment of a disease has been performed but the patient requires continued care during the healing or recovery phase, or for the long-term consequences of the disease. ICD-10 makes two important points about the use of aftercare codes in the final chapter. The aftercare […]

Diagnosis Coding for Intentional Self-Harm

Another discussion of codes that use placeholder xxxA (or xxx with another 7th character) One of the most searched terms on CodingIntel is xxxA. Experienced diagnosis coders recognize the placeholder digits “xxx” and the 7th character extender A. When we pulled the list of ICD-10-CM codes that have xxxA in them, nine related to self-harm […]

Diagnosis coding for a fall (or other injury)

More discussion of codes that use placeholder xxxA (or xxx with another 7th character). When a patient presents for an injury after a fall, practitioners may be tempted to search for the word “fall” and select the first diagnosis that they find. Perhaps, they find the code W06.xxxA “fall from a bed” or even W19.xxxA […]

ICD-10-CM Chapter Specific Guidelines – Chapters 17–20

The ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting sets the precedent of rules that all diagnostic coders must abide by. Section I.C. covers the chapter-specific guidelines. These offer detailed information about various conditions that require more thorough reporting guidance than the general guidelines provide. Reading the guidelines in their entirety is incredibly important, but this […]

ICD-10-CM Chapter Specific Guidelines – Chapters 14–16

ICD-10-CM Chapter Specific Guidelines – Chapters 11–13

DRG Red Flags: A Payor Perspective | Webinar

Recorded November 21st, 2024

Guest Presenter Dr. Amarin “Ty” Alexander, MD MBA MA, CHCQM-PHYADV, CPC-A, CIC, CRC, CPMA, CDIP, CDEI

Inpatient coding for DRGs is based on diagnosis coding. Some coding summaries can raise red flags with payers, even before looking at the medical record documentation. This webinar will detail what Present on Admission (POA) conditions invite scrutiny, why a short Length of Stay (LOS) with one Major Complication and Comorbidity (MCC) might raise a red flag and why payers will review malignancy as a secondary diagnosis.

ICD-10-CM Chapter Specific Guidelines – Chapters 7–10

Section I.C of the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting, titled “Chapter Specific Guidelines,” contains 22 chapters. These chapters offer detailed guidance on specific codes and code ranges in the ICD-10-CM manual. This article is part of a series that will delve into each of the chapters in Section I.C to delineate coding protocols […]

ICD-10-CM Chapter Specific Guidelines – Chapters 4–6

ICD-10-CM Chapter Specific Guidelines – Chapters 1–3

ICD-10-CM Conventions, Structure, and Format: Section I.B

The first step to finding the most accurate code is to confirm that you are working with the correct version of the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting. The correct version may be the most recent update, or – in the context of retrospective coding– it may need to be a previous version that […]

“xxxA” – ICD-10-CM Placeholder Code X and 7th Character Extension

Recently, while reviewing terms people use to find CodingIntel I was surprised to find that people were searching for “xxxA.” At first, I was afraid searchers were looking for a different kind of site….or sight. But searchers were looking for information about placeholder code X and 7th character extension A. These are typically used on […]

ICD-10-CM Conventions, Structure, and Format: Section I.A

As you read this article, it will be helpful if you have the ICD-10-CM book in front of you. You can download a pdf copy here. And even if you don’t download the entire book, download the Official Guidelines instead. There are four cooperating parties to ICD-10-CM. They publish and update the official guidelines for […]

IRE Inpatient Determinations: Case Studies | Webinar

Recorded August 13th, 2024

Guest Presenter Dr. Amarin “Ty” Alexander, MD MBA MA, CHCQM-PHYADV, CPC-A, CIC, CRC, CPMA, CDIP, CDEI

Independent Review Entities review inpatient records for diagnostic accuracy and DRG determinations. This case-study focused webinar will describe important ICD-10-CM Guidelines that establish the rules for these decisions.

Diagnosis Coding for Biopsy Sent for Pathology

Question: What diagnosis code should you use when sending a skin biopsy to pathology? a) D48.5 Neoplasm of uncertain behavior of skin, or b) D49.2 Neoplasm of unspecified behavior of bone, soft tissue, and skin Answer: The answer is b! Use an unspecified code when a specific diagnosis code is not known at the […]

Diagnosis Coding for Screening Colonoscopy

Some of you have read CodingIntel’s article on coding for screening colonoscopy. The questions we get about that article are almost all related to diagnosis coding. The CPT®/HCPCS coding and the modifiers don’t raise many questions but clinicians, coders, and patients frequently ask about correct diagnosis coding and sequencing of those codes. We recently posed […]

ICD-10 Coding for Suspected Cancer

Diagnosis coding for possible malignancy How would you feel if your primary care physician and your general surgeon told you-and told your insurance company on a claim form-that you had breast cancer, when you didn’t have breast cancer? You actually had atypical ductal hyperplasia, not breast cancer. Not only have they told you, the claim […]

Can you Screen for an Existing Condition? | Diagnosis Coding for Lab Services

Sometimes, the hardest thing about coding for preventive services isn’t the visit at all. It’s the labs. Patients come in for an annual physical and many times they believe that all of the lab work done that day or in preparation for that day will be covered as part of their preventive service. And we […]

Diagnosis Coding for Tick Bites

Question: Why is it so hard to have correct diagnosis coding for tick bites? And, how is it coded? Answer: The search function in electronic health records leads clinicians astray. And, diagnosis coding for tick bites requires two diagnosis codes, because it is an injury. It requires a code from the injury chapter in the […]

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