Q&A: Coding both ETOH withdrawal and ETOH with intoxication
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Q: If both ethyl alcohol (ETOH) withdrawal and ETOH with intoxication were documented, should we code both F10.239 and F10.929?
A: When you look up code F10.23, Alcohol dependence with withdrawal, directly underneath this code is the convention Exclude 2: Alcohol dependence with intoxication (F10.22-).
I would suggest that you review the Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting, which says:
Excludes2: A type 2 Excludes note represents “Not included here.” An excludes2 note indicates that the condition excluded is not part of the condition represented by the code, but a patient may have both conditions at the same time. When an Excludes2 note appears under a code, it is acceptable to use both the code and the excluded code together, when appropriate.
Editor’s Note: Sharme Brodie, RN, CCDS, CDI education specialist and CDI Boot Camp instructor for HCPro in Middleton, Massachusetts, answered this question. For information, contact her at sbrodie@hcpro.com. For information regarding CDI Boot Camps, click here.