Neurology & Pain Management Coding Alert
Use This Guide to Assigning Top Neurology Diagnoses
Do you know how to code headache syndromes? In a neurology practice, there are going to be a number of different diagnoses for which patients will seek treatment. When they report, it’s up to the coder to accurately assign ICD-10 codes to paint a picture of the patient’s condition. Some diagnoses are rare and exotic; others are kind of rote, if you know what to look for. We’ve compiled a list of some of the most common diagnoses in neurology, and the basics of how to assign ICD-10 codes for each condition. Know Headache Type for Optimal Coding Everyone knows what a headache is, but the type of headache is key for ICD-10 coding. If it’s a standard, run of the mill headache, you’ll choose from the following diagnosis codes: If, however, the headache is more specific, then so is the diagnosis coding. Migraine: For migraine patients, you’ll look to the G43.- (Migraine) code set. The set includes diagnoses for a multitude of migraines, including: You’ll need to go to the 6th character for most migraine diagnoses, as the 5th and 6th characters add detail to the diagnosis. These details include: Other headache syndromes: Though they might be migraine-adjacent, headache syndromes other than migraine have their own ICD-10 code set, G44.- (Other headache syndromes). Housed within this coding family are diagnoses for different headache syndrome afflictions, such as: When a patient is suffering from a headache syndrome, coding is often as specific as for migraines. Some of these codes go only to the 5th character, but there are some that will require you to assign a 6-character ICD-10 code. Look to Code for Laterality on Stroke Dx When a patient presents with a stroke — or cerebral infarction (CI) — you’ll head to the I63.- (Cerebral infarction) code set. The CI set contains diagnosis codes for several stroke types, including: You’ll use the 5th character of your stroke diagnosis to represent specifics such as stenosis or embolism. Stroke diagnoses nearly always go to the 6th character, which identifies laterality: right (1); left (2); bilateral (3); or unspecified (9). Parkinson’s Disease Gets New Codes Prior to 2024, there was only a single code to represent Parkinson’s disease: G20 (Parkinson’s disease). ICD-10 2024 added a 4th character to G20, making it a parent code and spawning these diagnosis offspring: There are also separate codes for secondary Parkinsonism in the G21.- (Secondary parkinsonism) code set. With a couple of exceptions, these codes go to the 4th character for complete diagnosis coding. Find the secondary Parkinsonism ICD-10 codes in the G21.- set. Dementia Dx Specifies Disturbance Type There are three distinct sets of dementia diagnoses: F01.- (Vascular dementia), F02.- (Dementia in other diseases classified elsewhere), and F03.- (Unspecified dementia). Each of these diagnoses contains a 4th character explaining the severity of the condition: mild, moderate, or severe. From there, the dementia codes will extend out to the 5th or 6th character. The 5th or 6th character options will provide more specific details about the patient’s dementia, including with/ without:
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