H61. 23 Impacted cerumen, bilateral - ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Codes.
69210CPT code 69210, Removal impacted cerumen, (separate procedure) one or both ears.
Removal of impacted cerumen is represented by the following two CPT codes:69209 – Removal impacted cerumen using irrigation/lavage, unilateral.69210 – Removal impacted cerumen requiring instrumentation, unilateral.
Impacted cerumen removal is the extraction of hardened or accumulated cerumen (ear wax) from the external auditory canal by mechanical means, such as irrigation or debridement.
For bilateral impacted cerumen removal, report code 69210 with modifier 50, Bilateral Procedure, appended.
Impacted cerumen (se-ROO-men) is when earwax (cerumen) builds up in the ear and blocks the ear canal; it can cause temporary hearing loss and ear pain.
A: The coder would report CPT code 69210 (removal impacted cerumen requiring instrumentation, unilateral) with modifier -50 (bilateral procedure) twice. Alternatively, the coder could report code 69210 twice with modifiers -LT (left side) and -RT (right side).
ICD-10-CM Code for Impacted cerumen, right ear H61. 21.
Like CPT 69210, (removal of impacted cerumen requiring instrumentation, unilateral) 69209 requires that a physician or qualified healthcare professional make the decision to irrigate/lavage. However, unlike 69210, 69209 allows removal to be carried out by clinical staff.
Cerumen impaction is one of the most common reasons patients seek medical care for ear-related problems. Although excessive cerumen is present in 10 percent of children and more than 30 percent of older and cognitively impaired patients, cerumen impaction is underdiagnosed and likely undertreated.
Like CPT 69210, (removal of impacted cerumen requiring instrumentation, unilateral) 69209 requires that a physician or qualified healthcare professional make the decision to irrigate/lavage. However, unlike 69210, 69209 allows removal to be carried out by clinical staff.
You may not bill CPT code 69209 with CPT code 69210, “removal impacted cerumen requiring instrumentation, unilateral,” for the same ear. However, CPT codes 69209 and 69210 can be billed for the same encounter if impacted cerumen is removed from one ear using instrumentation and from the other ear using lavage.
CPT® code 96372: Injection of drug/substance under skin or into muscle.
e. 69210 is not to be used for billing of removal of non-impacted cerumen – use an appropriate E&M code instead. 3 g. 69210 is allowed when billed in conjunction with one of the following: 92550, 92552, 92553, 92556, 92567, 92570, 92579, 92582, 92587.
H61.23 is a valid billable ICD-10 diagnosis code for Impacted cerumen, bilateral . It is found in the 2021 version of the ICD-10 Clinical Modification (CM) and can be used in all HIPAA-covered transactions from Oct 01, 2020 - Sep 30, 2021 .
Questionable admission codes - Some diagnoses are not usually sufficient justification for admission to an acute care hospital. For example, if a patient is given code R030 for elevated blood pressure reading, without diagnosis of hypertension, then the patient would have a questionable admission, since elevated blood pressure reading is not ...
DO NOT include the decimal point when electronically filing claims as it may be rejected. Some clearinghouses may remove it for you but to avoid having a rejected claim due to an invalid ICD-10 code, do not include the decimal point when submitting claims electronically. See also: Ear see also condition. wax (impacted) H61.20.
CPT® guidelines tell us, “For cerumen removal that is not impacted, see E/M service code …” such as new or established office patient (99201-99215), subsequent hospital care (99231-99233), etc. In other words: If the earwax isn’t impacted, removal is included in the documented evaluation and management (E/M) service reported and may not be separately billed.#N#Per the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS), cerumen is impacted if one or more of the following conditions are present: 1 Cerumen impairs the examination of clinically significant portions of the external auditory canal, tympanic membrane, or middle ear condition; 2 Extremely hard, dry, irritative cerumen causes symptoms such as pain, itching, hearing loss, etc.; 3 Cerumen is associated with foul odor, infection, or dermatitis; or 4 Obstructive, copious cerumen cannot be removed without magnification and multiple instrumentations requiring physician skills.
Both 69209 and 69210 are unilateral procedures . For removal of impacted earwax from both ears, append modifier 50 Bilateral procedure to the appropriate code. In the example above of the 7-year-old child, if irrigation occurred in both ears, appropriate coding is 69209-50.#N#When billing Medicare payers, different bilateral rules apply for 69210. The 2016 Medicare National Physician Fee Schedule Relative Value File assigns 69210 a “2” bilateral indicator. This means, for Medicare payers, the relative value units assigned to 69210 “are already based on the procedure being performed as a bilateral procedure.” In contrast to CPT® instructions, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) allows us to report only one unit of 69210 for a bilateral procedure. CMS does allow us to bill a bilateral procedure for cerumen removal by lavage using 69209-50.#N#Finally, note that some payers may stipulate “advanced practitioner skill” is necessary to report removal of impacted earwax (i.e., payers may require that a physician provide 69209, 69210). Query your individual payers to be certain of their requirements.
Code 69210 only captures the direct method of earwax removal utilizing curettes, hooks, forceps, and suction. Another less invasive method uses a continuous low pressure flow of liquid (eg, saline water) to gently loosen impacted cerumen and flush it out … Code 69209 enables the irrigation or lavage method of impacted cerumen removal to be separately reported…
The AMA’s CPT® Changes 2016: An Insider’s View confirms, “Impacted cerumen is typically extremely hard and dry and accompanied by pain and itching. Impacted cerumen obstructing the external auditory canal and tympanic membrane can lead to hearing loss.”
You may report a single unit of either 69209 or 69210 (never both), per ear treated. As an example of proper reporting for 69209, CPT® Changes 2016: An Insider’s View provides the following:
When Wax is removed on the same day as audio services, you can bill G0268 as long as the physician is the one who did the removal.
CPT codes, descriptions and other data only are copyright 2021 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved. Applicable FARS/HHSARS apply.
This article gives guidance for billing, coding, and other guidelines in relation to local coverage policy L33945-Cerumen (Earwax) Removal.
It is the responsibility of the provider to code to the highest level specified in the ICD-10-CM (e.g., to the fourth or fifth digit). The correct use of an ICD-10-CM code listed below does not assure coverage of a service. The service must be reasonable and necessary in the specific case and must meet the criteria specified in this determination.
Contractors may specify Bill Types to help providers identify those Bill Types typically used to report this service. Absence of a Bill Type does not guarantee that the article does not apply to that Bill Type.
Contractors may specify Revenue Codes to help providers identify those Revenue Codes typically used to report this service. In most instances Revenue Codes are purely advisory. Unless specified in the article, services reported under other Revenue Codes are equally subject to this coverage determination.
This means that while there is no exact mapping between this ICD10 code H61.23 and a single ICD9 code, 380.4 is an approximate match for comparison and conversion purposes.
DRG Group #154-156 - Other ear, nose, mouth and throat diagnoses without CC or MCC.
Billable codes are sufficient justification for admission to an acute care hospital when used a principal diagnosis.