Pulmonology Coding Alert

Question: I have two different medical encounters to code. The diagnosis for one is listed as lung scarring while the other report lists pulmonary fibrosis.

Can I use J84.10 to report both conditions?

Codify Subscriber

Answer: Yes, you can use J84.10 (Pulmonary fibrosis, unspecified) to report both conditions. Lung scarring and pulmonary fibrosis are closely related conditions, so J84.10 is the most appropriate code for the diagnoses. Pulmonary fibrosis is a condition where the patient’s lung tissue becomes thick or scarred. As the condition worsens, the patient will develop breathing difficulties.

Some coders may be tempted to use J98.4 (Other disorders of lung) to report the lung scarring since Scar > lung in the Alphabetic Index directs you to J98.4. However, J98.4 is a more general code that is designated for various lung disorders that don’t have a specific code assigned to them.

In your cases, since you have separate pulmonary fibrosis and lung scarring diagnoses, your best option is to use J84.10 for both encounters. Code J84.10 is more specific and accurately represents the patients’ conditions.