Happy Fourth of July, ICD-10 style

By

Michelle A. Leppert, CPC

Ah, the Fourth of July, picnics, parades, and pryotechnics. What could be better? Well, not having your family and friends end up at Fix ‘Em Up Clinic the next day would be a good start. Alas, holidays here in Anytown never go off without a hitch, so let’s see who has wandered in with a holiday malady.

Doug was running around with a lit sparkler and one of the sparks flew into his eye. So what kind of injury does Doug have? If the little metal shaving from the sparkler is still in his eye, he may have a foreign body in the cornea (T15.0-) or a foreign body in the conjunctival sac (T15.1-). Alternately, he could have a corneal abrasion without a foreign body (S05.0-).

The code we choose will ultimately depend on the physician’s documentation, but we should note that S05.0- has an Excludes1 note for codes T15.0- and T15.1-, meaning those codes cannot be reported together.

That makes sense if you think about it. S05.0- specifies no foreign body, while both T codes indicate the presence of a foreign body.

We hope you have a safe and happy holiday and don’t end it at the Fix ‘Em Up Clinic!

Ecitor's Note: This article originally published on the ICD-10 Trainer Blog.