Wiki B95 range as primary dx?

[Nicoletheradiologygirl]

Can codes in the B95 range be used as a primary diagnosis for any reason? The setting is a dermatology office visit, 99202. We've gotten denials stating it can't be, but our in-house coder has not provided us with an explanation of if this would even be valid. I've looked it up myself and my understanding is that they should only be supplemental codes, that there should always be another primary dx. Is this right?

 

[thomas7331]

Can codes in the B95 range be used as a primary diagnosis for any reason? The setting is a dermatology office visit, 99202. We've gotten denials stating it can't be, but our in-house coder has not provided us with an explanation of if this would even be valid. I've looked it up myself and my understanding is that they should only be supplemental codes, that there should always be another primary dx. Is this right?

You're correct, these codes are only used as additional codes to indicate the bacterial cause of another disease, which must be coded first, so you wouldn't ever use B95 as a primary code. You can find this instruction in ICD-10 the Section Notes at the heading of the B95-B97 code category. If there is no specific disease documented, just the infection itself, you would use a different code, for example A49.8 or A49.9.