Have you heard the news? Reporting a code together with codes from its Excludes1 list may be appropriate when the conditions are unrelated. 

Although the ICD-10-CM Tabular List states that an “Excludes1 note indicates that the code excluded should never be used at the same time as the code above the Excludes1 note,” that rule caused issues for certain code combinations as coders started using ICD-10. 

To resolve those issues, an interim rule is in place: “If the two conditions are not related to one another, it is permissible to report both codes despite the presence of an Excludes1 note,” according to advice approved by AHIMA, AHA, CMS, and NCHS (www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/icd/Interim_advice_updated_final.pdf).  

The SuperCoder team is working to ensure the tools and resources we provide reflect the interim rule.

Once the ICD-10 partial code freeze expires Oct. 1, 2016, you may see certain Excludes1 notes change to Excludes2 notes. The interim rule may change at that time.

Check My SuperCoder/Notifications to keep track of SuperCoder’s ICD-10 enhancements:

We are fast at work on:

• Optimizing search results
• Perfecting CPT®-ICD10CM crosswalk and adding it for all codes.

We’ve completed:

• Adding code first and use additional code notes from a code’s hierarchy (always available on code listing pages) to code details pages
• Defaulting search results to ICD-10
• Defaulting CMS 1500 Scrubber to ICD-10
• Updating ICD-10 logics in Scrubber.