ICD-10 has been the focus for many private practices for much of the year and while many practices see the change as a huge turkey, the new coding system will actually allow physicians to be more specific with their diagnosis, which provides valuable medical details.
ICD-10 codes will actually allow doctors to create more accurate electronic health records and increase the amount of time physicians spend engaging with their patients instead of collecting information left out of the ICD-9 codes. In turn, the patient will have a more detailed electronic health record.
During this holiday season, we are thankful to all physician practices for being able to take on the challenges and providing high quality care to all of us. In the spirit of the season, here are some ICD-10 codes that might provide some holiday cheer and come in handy over this Thanksgiving Holiday:
Y93.G3 Activity, Cooking and Baking
Ah, the turkey is roasting and the potatoes are boiling. And Cousin Carl just chopped the end of his finger off while preparing the veggie tray. He will earn this ICD-10 code, along with W26.0, Contact with Knife, to forever remember this year’s Thanksgiving…and that nasty scar.
W61.42 Struck by Turkey / W71.43 Pecked by Turkey / W61.49 Other Contact with Turkey
Thanksgiving isn’t Thanksgiving without a turkey. If there is a terrible mishandling of dinner’s main dish, or if a still-flapping gobbler enacts revenge, ICD-10 has three codes that are perfect for the season’s avian-related incident.
W21.01 Struck by Football
Another Thanksgiving staple is the good ol’ American sport of football. Usually, unless there is cheering for opposing teams, televised football games are safe enough. But a well-intentioned family flag-football game can result in a quick trip to the emergency room.
ICD-10-CM Polyphagia (Overeating)
Parrots aren’t the only ones to watch out for this season. If a vampire or zombie takes their costume a bit too seriously, this code will record the chomp.
Y04.0 Assault by Unarmed Brawl or Fight
Black Friday shopping has become just as much a part of Thanksgiving as stuffing and pumpkin pie. But this mass hysteria for great deals doesn’t come without risks—especially when there are two shoppers and only one great bargain up for grabs. Get your extreme shopping skills up to snuff or Y04.0 and Y92.59, Other trade areas (mall) as the place of occurrence of external cause, may be jotted in your electronic health records.
W21.01 Lack of Adequate Sleep
No matter how we choose to celebrate Thanksgiving, few of us escape the meal prep, early morning shopping and family togetherness without a mild case of exhaustion. For those who try to do it all, there is an ICD-10 code for that.
Michael Bearnson works in the Medical Business Solutions center of excellence at ADP AdvancedMD and has functioned as the ICD-10 project manager for the past two years. Has over 20 years of experience with business process improvement. Follow him on Twitter at @ICD10Posse.
Edited by
Maurice Nagle
