Psychiatry Coding & Reimbursement Alert

Question: Our psychiatrist recently started performing psychotherapy for a 19-year-old male patient whom our clinician has diagnosed with intermittent explosive disorder. How do I report this diagnosis that our clinician has arrived at?

Michigan Subscriber

Answer: Intermittent explosive disorder is a type of impulse disorder. When a person is diagnosed with this disorder, your clinician will note that the patient suffers from bouts of extreme rage that can take the form of severe verbal or physical aggression that is not usually proportionate to the trigger that has caused the outburst. Your clinician will note that the outbursts are impulsive and not premeditated and that the patient feels tensed or aroused prior to the outburst and gets a sense of relief after. In some cases, the patient might feel a sense of regret or embarrassment following the episode.

For impulsive disorders, you have to choose from the F63.- (Impulse disorders) range of codes. When your clinician diagnoses intermittent explosive disorder, you have a specific code to report the condition. You report it with F63.81 (Intermittent explosive disorder).