Looking ahead to this year's new diagnosis codes

Summer is still upon us, but it’s not too early to start preparing for the annual round of ICD-10 diagnosis coding changes effective for dates of service on or after Oct. 1.

Among the notable changes for primary care are the following new codes:

• E78.41 for “Elevated lipoprotein(a)” and related codes Z83.430 for “Family history of elevated lipoprotein(a)” and Z83.438 for “Family history of other disorder of lipoprotein metabolism and other lipidemia,”

• F53.0 for “Postpartum depression” and F53.1 for “Puerperal psychosis,”

• Several new codes to describe newborns affected by maternal medication and other factors (e.g., P04.14 for “Newborn affected by maternal use of opiates”),

• Several new codes for various screenings (e.g., Z13.31 for “Encounter for screening for depression”),

• Several new codes to report forced labor and sexual exploitation (e.g., T74.51 for “Adult forced sexual exploitation, confirmed”) and related personal history and encounters (e.g., Z04.81 for “Encounter for examination and observation of victim following forced sexual exploitation”),

• Z28.83 for “Immunization not carried out due to unavailability of vaccine.”

These are just some of the highlights. Remember not to report any of the new ICD-10 codes until Oct. 1. You can see the full, updated code files published by the National Center for Health Statistics on the websites of either the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

– Kent Moore, Senior Strategist for Physician Payment at the American Academy for Family Physicians