Reader Question:
'Bullying' Codes Take Back Seat to Main Symptoms
Published on Mon Oct 29, 2012
Question:
Which diagnosis code should we report when bullying is a factor? We had a 13-year old who presented with a concussion after being beaten at school by another student. I know we can use concussion or the other symptoms he presented with (headache, dizziness, fatigue, etc...) but the doctor wanted to list a code for the bullying. She originally used 995.81 (abused person, NOS) which is incorrect because that's for an adult. Can you advise?Rhode Island Subscriber
Answer:
You are correct that the concussion or other symptoms should be listed first. If you want to add an ICD-9 code for confirmed abuse, you should consider 995.51 (
Child emotional/psychological abuse), 995.54 (
Child physical abuse), or 995.59 (
Other child abuse and neglect). You should also consider an "E" code to designate who perpetrated the abuse. For instance E967.4 (
Perpetrator of child and adult abuse by child).