It's bigger, it's badder, it's more billable medical codes than you could ever imagine. Ladies and gentlemen, it's the newest iteration of the “International Classification of Diseases”!
The ICD-10 revision is obviously more robust, including about 55,000 more diagnostic codes than its predecessor. With so many new codes there are bound to be some on the outlandish side. We took a look and wanted to share our top 20 favorites.
- Struck By Turtle (W59.22XA)
- Knitting and Crocheting (Y93.D1)
- Spacecraft collision injuring occupant (V95.43XS)
- Swimming pool of prison as the place of occurrence of the external cause (Y92.146)
- Pecked by chicken, initial encounter (W61.33XA)
- Burn due to water-skis on fire, initial encounter (V91.07XA)
- Art gallery as the place of occurrence of the external cause (Y92.250)
- Struck by an orca, initial encounter (W56.22xA)
- Opera house as the place of occurrence of the external cause (Y92.253)
- Problems in relationship with in-laws (Z63.1)
- Bitten by a turkey (W61.42 or W61.43)
- Injuries caused by squirrels (W53.21)
- Bitten by sea lion (W5611XD)
- Spending too much time in a deep-freeze refrigerator (W93.2)
- Prolonged stay in weightless environment (X52)
- Unspecified balloon accident injuring occupant (V9600XS)
- Hit or struck by falling object due to accident to canoe or kayak (V9135XA)
- Large toe that has gone unexpectedly missing (Z89.419)
- Bizarre personal appearance (R46.1)
- Fecal Urgency (R15.2) Actually, this one is no laughing matter...
If you’re actually looking for some useful information on the ICD-10 transition, check out ICD-10 Resource Guide for Physicians.
What are your favorite new ICD-10 codes? Share your picks in the comments section below.
I have never quite understood how the medical profession in South Africa was conned into the ICD-10 nonsense. In effect, it means that we are doing the medical aids’ job for them. Fiddling around with these nonsensical digits probably takes up more time than looking after patients. If SAMA would like to get back on my Christmas card mailing list, they would start a fight to get rid them. We did without them before, we can do so again, and get on with our primary task of looking after patients.
my take on the Orca injury is it will not only be the first occurrence but the last, as I am staying away from SeaWorld.