If your internist notes in a chart today that a patient's presenting complaint is "shortness of breath," you select diagnosis 786.05 (Shortness of breath). You'll still have a single choice when ICD-10 goes into effect in October 2013, with R06.02. Making the switch will be simple because code R06.02 retains the same descriptor as 786.05: shortness of breath. ICD-10 difference:
Coding tips:
Shortness of breath is usually a symptom of an underlying disorder such as asthma (493.90, Asthma unspecified), pneumonia (486, Pneumonia organism unspecified), or cardiac ischemia (414.9, Chronic ischemic heart disease unspecified). Shortness of breath is generally caused by disorders of the cardiac or respiratory system, but other systems (such as the musculoskeletal, endocrine, hematologic, or psychiatric) may be the cause. Physicians should perform a comprehensive history and comprehensive physical exam on the patient to help guide diagnosis and treatment.