ICD 10 Coding Alert

Reader Question:

Look to More Specific Swimmer's Ear Options in ICD-10

Published on Thu Aug 16, 2012

Question: A patient presented to our practice with swimmer's ear. How should we report this?

California Subscriber

Answer: If you see a patient with swimmer's ear, it might be tempting to report a code from the 380.10 series (Infective otitis externa, unspecified) -- but that would be a mistake. ICD-9 includes a specific code for acute swimmer's ear (380.12), which you should report anytime the pediatrician identifies the condition in the patient's chart.

ICD-10 update: Once you are required to use the ICD-10 codeset (which will happen in October 2014 if CMS finalizes its current proposal), you'll instead choose from one of three codes, rather than using the single 380.12 code. The applicable ICD-10 codes will be as follows:

H60.331 -- Swimmer's ear, right ear
H60.332 -- Swimmer's ear, left ear
H60.333 -- Swimmer's ear, bilateral
H60.339 -- Swimmer's ear, unspecified ear

ICD 10 Coding Alert

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