General Guidelines and Examples The codes can be used with any code within the following ranges that an external cause code is applicable to: A00.0-T88.9 and Z00-Z99. Primarily, external cause codes are used with injury codes, but there are instances that it would be appropriate to further specify the cause.
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External Cause Coding Guidelines: used with any code in the range of A00.0-T88.9, Z00-Z99. Any health condition due to an external cause. External cause code for length of treatment: for each encounter where the condition is being treated.
Superficial injuries: Superficial injuries such as abrasions or contusions are not coded when associated with more severe injuries at the same site. When coding injuries assign separate codes for each injury unless a combination code is provided in which case the combination code is assigned.
External cause code status: indicate whether the accident or injury happened during a paid or volunteer activity (Y99.0-Y99.99) Here is an example of an accident case coded with ICD-10-CM. A 30-year-old patient was at a sports gymnasium, participating in a tap dancing contest to raise funds for muscular dystrophy.
Furthermore, there are some instances in which the cause of an injury is built into the primary diagnosis code (e.g., T360X1, Poisoning by penicillins, accidental). If it’s possible to submit external cause codes for a particular category or section of codes, you will see instructions to do so within the tabular list.
Let's walk through an example: If a patient arrives with an acute right anterior cruciate ligament sprain, caused by a slip and fall, the injury and external cause would be reported with the following codes: S83. 511A Sprain of anterior cruciate ligament of right knee, initial encounter. W01.
An external cause status code is used only once, at the initial encounter for treatment. Only one code from Y99 should be recorded on a medical record. Do not assign code Y99. 9, Unspecified external cause status, if the status is not stated.
External cause codes identify the cause of an injury or health condition, the intent (accidental or intentional), the place where the incident occurred, the activity of the patient at the time of the incident, and the patient's status (such as civilian or military).
The external cause-of-injury codes are the ICD codes used to classify injury events by mechanism and intent of injury. Intent of injury categories include unintentional, homicide/assault, suicide/intentional self-harm, legal intervention or war operations, and undetermined intent.
External Causes of Morbidity: External cause codes are intended to provide data for injury research and injury prevention strategies.
External cause codes may be used in any healthcare setting and with any diagnostic code. a. often used in ED, family practice, orthopedics, and ophthalmology b/c physicians specialize in circumstances or body systems frequently affected by external causes.
In ICD-9 and ICD-9-CM, external cause of injury codes are often referred to as E-codes because they all began with the letter E. The E-codes range from E800 to E999. An associated variable named ECLASS can be used to classify external cause of injury diagnoses codes into specific categories.
In medicine, an external cause is a reason for the existence of a medical condition which can be associated with a specific object or acute process that was caused by something outside the body.
External-cause definition A cause for an effect in a system that is not a constituent of that system, especially causes of personal health problems or death, such as poison, weapon wounds, or accident. noun.
External cause of morbidity codes are never to be recorded as a principal diagnosis (first-listed in non-inpatient settings). The appropriate injury code should be sequenced before any external cause codes.
External-cause definition A cause for an effect in a system that is not a constituent of that system, especially causes of personal health problems or death, such as poison, weapon wounds, or accident. noun.
For instance, a heart attack due to strenuous activity, or signs and symptoms such as shoulder pain from a ground level fall.
An external cause status code should be assigned whenever an external cause code is assigned. Only one status code may be reported at the initial encounter and, just like the Activity and Place of Occurrence codes, Y99.9 Unspecified External Cause status should not be reported if it is not stated within the record.
Sequelae codes are used to report late effects of an injury for as long as they are present or are being treated. When determining if a sequelae code should be reported, keep in mind that a sequela, or late effect, is not the same as a healing injury.
That said, there are still no national guidelines for mandatory reporting for the codes of Chapter 20: External Causes of Morbidity. The exception to this are providers who are required by a particular payer, or a state-based mandate. As such, it’s important to stay informed on what is required for reporting for your provider (s).
Also, never assign a status code if there are no reportable external cause codes, such as with poisonings. Example: A 41-year-old male came into the ER with his spouse. He states he fell off a ladder while volunteering at a nursing home, and reports left ankle pain.
Before we dive in, remember: external causes of morbidity codes are never to be coded as the primary or principle diagnosis. These unique codes within chapter twenty are always to be used as secondary codes to provide supplementary data on injuries and other health conditions captured within the health record.
Use the full range of external cause codes: cause, intent, place of occurrence, activity and status for all injuries and other health conditions related to an external cause. Chapter 20 a4.
Late Effects of External Cause: 1) Late effects are reported using the external cause code with 7th character "S" for sequela. 2) A late effect external cause code should never be used with a current injury code. 3) Use a late effect external cause code for subsequent visits when a late effect of the initial injury is being treated. Do not use a late effect external cause code for follow-up care when no late effect is documented.
Only 1 place code, 1 activity code, and 1 status code per encounter. If the reporting format limits the number of external cause codes than can be used in reporting clinical data, report the code for the cause/intent most related to the principal diagnosis.
Only 1 place code, 1 activity code, and 1 status code per encounter.
Primary injury with damage to nerves/blood vessels: When a primary injury results in minor damage to peripheral nerves or blood vessels, the primary injury is sequenced first with additional codes for injuries to nerves and spinal cord and/ or injury to blood vessels.
Unknown or Undetermined Intent Guideline: If the intent of the cause of an injury or other conition is unknown or unspecified, code the intent as accidental intent. All transport accident categories assume accidental intent. External cause codes for events of undetermined intent are only for use if the documentation in the record specifies that the intent cannot be determined. (i.e. Did he fall, or was he pushed?)
Initial encounter is used while the patient is receiving active treatment for the injury. Subsesquent encounter is used for encounters after the patient has received active treatment of the injury and is receving routine care for the injury during the healing or recovery phase.
In other words, the first cause code you list should be the one that describes the cause or intent most closely related to the principal diagnosis. Furthermore, per the official coding guidelines, external cause codes for the following events take precedence over all other external cause codes, in the following order of importance (i.e., the third-listed item trumps all items except the first and second-listed items):
With five times as many codes as ICD-9, ICD-10 is certainly more specific. It’s no wonder, then,...
Typically, you would only report place of occurrence, activity, and external cause status codes during your initial evaluation of the patient. However, there are a handful of codes—particularly ones that describe how an injury happened—that you can report more than once.
However, even though there’s no national requirement for cing providers to report external cause codes, the coding guidelines strongly encourage medical professionals to do so anyway because the codes “provide valuable data for injury research and evaluation of injury prevention strategies.”.
They don’t apply to all categories of diagnosis codes. That is, you shouldn’t submit external cause codes for every single diagnosis, because in some cases, it doesn’t make sense to attribute a condition to a specific cause.
The following coding guidance is provided at the beginning of the chapter, "Use secondary code (s) from chapter 20, External Causes of Morbidity, to indicate cause of injury." Codes within the T section that include the external cause do not require an additional external cause code. The Official Coding Guidelines clarified the use of external cause codes in 2014. The guidelines state: “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 code reporting mandate or these codes are required by a particular payer, reporting of ICD-10-CM codes in Chapter 20, External Causes of Morbidity, is not required. In the absence of a mandatory reporting requirement, providers are encouraged to voluntarily report external cause codes, as they provide valuable data for injury research and evaluation of injury prevention strategies.”
In ICD-10-CM, injuries are grouped by body part rather than by category, so all injuries of a specific site (such as head and neck) are grouped together rather than groupings of all fractures or all open wounds. Categories grouped by injury in ICD-9-CM such as fractures (800–829), dislocations (830–839), and sprains and strains (840–848) are grouped in ICD-10-CM by site, such as injuries to the head (S00–S09), injuries to the neck (S10–S19), and injuries to the thorax (S20–S29).
The classes are I, II, and III, with the third class further subdivided into A, B, or C.
Subsequent encounter (D) is used for encounters after the patient has received active treatment of the injury and is receiving routine care for the injury during the healing or recovery phase (e.g., cast change or removal, an x-ray to check healing status of fracture, removal of external or internal fixation device, medication adjustment, other aftercare and follow-up visits following injury treatment).
Initial encounter (A) is used while the patient is receiving active treatment for the injury (e.g., surgical treatment, emergency department encounter, and evaluation and continuing treatment by the same or a different physician). The appropriate seventh character for initial encounter should also be assigned for a patient who delayed seeking treatment for the fracture or nonunion.
When coding a poisoning or reaction to the improper use of a medication (e.g., overdose, wrong substance given or taken in error, wrong route of administration), assign first the appropriate code from categories T36–T50. The sequencing for a toxic effect of substances chiefly nonmedicinal as to source (T51-T65) is the same as for coding poisonings. Poisoning codes have an associated intent: accidental, intentional self-harm, assault, and undetermined. Use additional code (s) for all manifestations of poisonings.
ICD-10-CM provides greater specificity in coding injuries than ICD-9-CM. While many of the coding guidelines for injuries remain the same as ICD-9-CM, ICD-10-CM does include some new features, such as seventh characters.