Pediatric Coding Alert

Question: We are accustomed to reporting the “other specified pervasive developmental disorder” code 299.8x for Asperger’s patients, but we heard that this diagnosis will have its own code under ICD-10. Can you explain what it will be and how to use it?

Codify Subscriber

Answer: You heard correctly. New code F84.5 will describe Asperger’s syndrome, no longer requiring you to report an unspecified code for this common diagnosis. The ICD-10 codes for pervasive development disorders, including those on the autism spectrum, are as follows:

• F84.0 - Autistic disorder
• F84.2 -Rett’s syndrome
• F84.3 -Other childhood disintegrative disorder
• F84.5 -Asperger’s syndrome
• F84.8 -Other pervasive developmental disorders
• F84.9 -Pervasive developmental disorder, unspecified. The parenthetical note for this code indicates that it includes “atypical autism.”

Documentation: Unlike in the past, your documentation will clearly have to include the diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome if the patient has that condition, since you’ll be reporting a specific code for it (F84.5) with ICD-10, versus the “other” diagnosis code of 299.8x that you reported under ICD-9. Make sure the physician specifies Asperger’s, and if you see this condition frequently, you might consider adding F84.5 to your superbill.