Orthopedic Coding Alert
Reader Questions:
Go ‘High’ for This Disc Disorder Code
Published on Wed Jun 05, 2024
Question: Encounter notes indicate that a patient is suffering a high cervical disc disorder with myelopathy. How many diagnosis codes do I need for this patient, and what is “high cervical,” from an anatomic standpoint? North Carolina Subscriber Answer: You’ll only need a single diagnosis code for this patient: M50.01 (Cervical disc disorder with myelopathy, high cervical region). Anatomic breakdown: Per ICD-10, the high cervical area is C1-C4. 
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Question: Encounter notes indicate that a patient is suffering a high cervical disc disorder with myelopathy. [...]
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