Use 2 examples to master Excludes1 vs. Excludes2 notes. Kidney stone sufferers number in the millions each year. Because those numbers are on the rise, the diagnosis code for this ailment is sure to still rank among your commonly used codes when the transition to ICD-10 occurs in 2013. Good news: As shown above, the major difference is that ICD-10 offers a code (N20.2) that is appropriate when the patient has calculi of both the kidney and the ureter. Under ICD-9, you would report the same diagnosis using two codes (592.0 and 592.1). Instructional notes: ICD-9 guidelines explain that an excludes note under a code indicates that the terms excluded from the code are to be coded using other codes. "The term excludes means 'DO NOT CODE HERE,'" the guidelines state. For example, an ICD-9 excludes note instructs you to assign 275.49 for nephrocalcinosis rather than using a code in the 592 range (Calculus of kidney and ureter). In contrast, ICD-10 has both "Excludes1" and "Excludes2" notes. According to ICD-10 guidelines, Excludes1 means "NOT CODED HERE." In fact, you should never report the excluded code "at the same time as the code above the Excludes 1 note," the guidelines state. Excludes1 means the "two conditions cannot occur together." An Excludes2 note instead tells you that the excluded term should be reported using another code, but if the patient has both conditions you may report both codes. In other words, "When an Excludes2 note appears under a code it is acceptable to use both the code and the excluded code together," ICD-10 guidelines state. Excludes1 example: Because these terms are listed as an Excludes1 note, you should never report N20.- with N13.2 or the code for nephrocalcinosis (E83.5). Excludes2 example: Reminder: