Anesthesia Coding Alert

Newly introduced diagnosis becomes official Oct. 1; headache NOS expands.

When the 2021 ICD-10-CM code set goes into effect Oct. 1, 2020, the diagnosis created in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) will become official: U07.1 (COVID-19).

Background: The code was introduced in April. Experts were amazed at the quickness with which U07.1 was added to the ICD-10 rolls — but it made sense considering the unprecedented circumstances and the lack of an accurate diagnosis code for the situation.

“The speed that the ICD-10-CM Coordination and Maintenance Committee approved this new code is unprecedented,” said Betty Ann Price, BSN, RN, president and founder of Professional Reimbursement and Coding Strategies, and AHIMA-approved ICD-10-CM trainer. “The new code, U07.1, was initially assigned by the World Health Organization. Usually it requires at least a one-year process to get a new code adopted, but this went through with exceptional speed.”

The early adoption of U07.1 was necessary, however, to “fulfill the imperative need to track the diagnosis of this condition as well as its subsequent treatment,” explains Gregory Przybylski, MD, immediate past chairman of neuroscience and director of neurosurgery at the New Jersey Neuroscience Institute, JFK Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey.

Even anesthesia providers and pain management specialists could find themselves reporting U07.1, if they continue to be called upon to provide emergency care for patients affected by the virus.

Good to know: In the notes beneath U07.1, coders are instructed to use an additional code to “identify pneumonia or other manifestations.” There are also several Excludes1 diagnoses as well, including:

• B34.2 (Coronavirus infection, unspecified)
• B97.2- (Coronavirus as the cause of diseases classified elsewhere)
• J12.81 (Pneumonia due to SARS-associated coronavirus)

Headache NOS Gets Extra Character

Pain management specialists should also pay attention to a couple of changes to diagnoses for certain headaches under ICD-10-CM 2021.

The code set will add new diagnosis R51.0 (Headache with orthostatic component, not elsewhere classified). You should also use this code to identify headache with positional component, not elsewhere classified.

Also, ICD-10 moved unspecified headaches to its own classification: R51.9 (Headache, unspecified).

In 2020, this code set consisted only of R51 (Headache). In 2021, you’ll use R51.9 to report headache NOS.