Neurology & Pain Management Coding Alert

ICD-10 choices include etiology and manifestation.

ICD-9 requires you to report two diagnosis codes for patients with diabetic polyneuropathy: one for the underlying diabetes etiology and the other for manifestation. That approach will change when ICD-10 is introduced in October 2013 and you narrow your reports to only one code.

You currently report diabetic polyneuropathy with the diabetes etiology code 250.6x (Diabetes with neurological manifestations) and 357.2 (Polyneuropathy in diabetes).

ICD-10 difference: ICD-10 combines the etiology and manifestation into a single code. For example, you'll submit E10.42 (Type 1 diabetes mellitus with diabetic polyneuropathy) for Type 1 diabetic neuropathy or E11.42 (Type 2 diabetes mellitus with diabetic polyneuropathy) for Type 2 diabetic neuropathy.

Tip: As you learn about more ICD-10 versions of the diagnoses you often use, create a crosswalk for your practice showing the current ICD-9 descriptors and future ICD-10 variations.