# ICD-10 Truncated Codes



## sharda (Sep 14, 2016)

Good morning - I was reviewing the new 2017 ICD-10 codes and realizing that some of the new codes are truncated and did not say to add 5th or 6th or 7th digit. Example of this code K91.87 is a new code and has the new code sign but does not say add extra digit. Below that has the series of codes K91.870, K91.871,K91.872 and K91.873  - I am totally confused - I was trained to code to the highest specificity. By using K91.87 on a claim wouldn't that be making a error of a truncated code where there are more codes in the same category has 6 digits...

Please help - appreciate it - thank you.


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## CodingKing (Sep 14, 2016)

There are some lists out there that will include both complete and incomplete codes. There should be an indicator of which are complete and incomplete. There are other versions that only include the complete code.

For example here is an excerpt from one of the files I grabbed from CMS. The 0 in the third column means it needs additional digits



```
13748 K9187   0  Postproc hematoma and seroma of a dgstv sys org fol a proc      Postprocedural hematoma and seroma of a digestive system organ or structure following a procedure
13749 K91870  1  Postproc hematoma of a dgstv sys org fol a dgstv sys proc       Postprocedural hematoma of a digestive system organ or structure following a digestive system procedure
13750 K91871  1  Postproc hematoma of a dgstv sys org fol other procedure        Postprocedural hematoma of a digestive system organ or structure following other procedure
13751 K91872  1  Postproc seroma of a dgstv sys org fol a dgstv sys procedure    Postprocedural seroma of a digestive system organ or structure following a digestive system procedure
13752 K91873  1  Postproc seroma of a dgstv sys org following other procedure    Postprocedural seroma of a digestive system organ or structure following other procedure
```


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## sharda (Sep 14, 2016)

Thank you for your response - it does makes sense.. I did download the list from CMS but I wanted to verify the codes in the book and that is where I encountered the issue. Book - ICD-10-CM expert for physicians for Optum 360.


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## CodingKing (Sep 14, 2016)

Ah I got ya. I have not received the new book yet so cant help you there. I wonder if its a misprint as there should be an indicator that additional digits are required


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