Easy-to-Mock ICD-10 Diagnosis Codes...
...and the logic behind them.
![](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt69509c9116440be8/blt1bbc7b242119d6dd/64cb5806f9a9e47f3174b704/struckbyorca.jpg?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
Ah, those crazy ICD-10 codes. Ever since the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services got serious about pushing toward implementation of the new diagnostic coding system, one of the ways opponents of the change have fought back is with ridicule.
After delaying the implementation several times, CMS has now indicated it won't budge from an October 1 deadline for the new standard. What CMS is mandating is actually a US-specific variant of the ICD-10 code set ratified by the World Health Organization in the 1990s and already implemented in some form in most of the rest of the world. CMS has packed its version with all sorts of details that it, other payers, and public health officials would like to track.
With 68,000 codes, some very specific, the new code set is full of surprises. It even inspired an illustrated book, Struck by Orca, a reference to code W56.22XA, "struck by orca, initial encounter." There's also W56.22XD, "struck by orca, subsequent encounter," and W56.22XS, "struck by orca, sequela" (meaning some sequel or recurrence months or years after the original orca drama).
Through their website, ICD-10 Illustrated, the book's creators also offer posters and PowerPoint slides healthcare leaders can use to introduce their staffs to the hilarity that is ICD-10. You can see a couple of sample images from the catalogue above.
Defenders of ICD-10 say the mockery is misleading, however; that most people will never use the more obscure codes any more than they would use all the obscure words in the dictionary. In most cases, the examples people point to about the circumstances of freak accidents are not diagnosis codes at all, nor are they mandatory codes that must be included for billing. A concussion from being struck by an orca is not necessarily all that different from a concussion suffered playing football in terms of head trauma -- although there are legitimate public health reasons for tracking how many concussions are associated with playing football.
If you're wondering, W21.81XA is "striking against or struck by a football helmet, inital encounter" -- again, that's a circumstance, not a diagnosis. The diagnosis would be something like S06.0X1A, "concussion with loss of consciousness of 30 minutes or less, initial encounter."
The language about initial and subsequent encounters, which appears throughout ICD-10, is one of the things some people find comic. The common misunderstanding is that "struck by turtle, second encounter" must mean the patient keeps coming back to the office after being hit by yet another turtle, or the same turtle repeatedly. It actually just means the patient came back for a follow up visit.
That said, here is a quick tour through the dizzying world of ICD-10 codes.
Yes, the creators of ICD-10 would like doctors to keep track of incidents where an injury is the result of being bitten by or struck by an orca. Presumably, doctors in inner-city hospitals won't use this one a lot. But how about near SeaWorld in Orlando? Watch CNN's documentary Blackfish for reasons regulators might want to keep track of orca-related injuries and deaths.
Boston Globe columnist Steven Syre was amused by Code W61.01XA, "bitten by a parrot, initial encounter" and even more by V97.33XD: "sucked into a jet engine, subsequent encounter."
"Remember the poor guy who got sucked into a jet engine? What could a 'subsequent encounter' possibly be?" he asked.
Even given the caveat we shared about the meaning of "subsequent," we suspect few people who get sucked into a jet engine survive to come back for a follow-up visit -- but this code is there waiting for them, just in case.
As for the parrot, there are codes for the bites of many more exotic birds and other critters that could come in handy for tracking animal-borne illnesses. Remember bird flu?
One of the distinctions between ICD-9 and ICD-10 is laterality, meaning that there is a different code for an injury to the right leg as opposed to the left leg, and many codes get even more specific about the part of the anatomy affected.
This can seem excessive. Why does "insect bite (non-venomous), upper arm" require a different code from lower arm, upper back, lower back, and so on?
On the other hand, right leg versus left leg can certainly make a difference -- consider the horror stories about surgeons operating on the wrong limb. Good to have these things right in the record.
To reiterate, "subsequent encounter" doesn't mean the patient walked into the lamp post repeatedly. (Although if that's true, it would be worth noting.)
Walking into lamp posts could be a sign of drunkenness or maybe just distraction. The people who thought up London's experiment with padded lamp posts to protect people too busy texting on their phones would likely want to track this code.
According to a director of ICD-10 codes, this actually is a billable code that can be used to specify a diagnosis. Providing social context about trouble in the family could also be important for understanding the patient's source of stress or, in more serious cases, injury from domestic violence.
Again, not a diagnosis code, but used for tracking how many injuries or fatalities are associated with a specific sport.
This example turned up in the comments on the blog post I cited about the common misunderstanding of the meaning of "subsequent" in ICD-10. As a reader pointed out, in this case the formula has clearly been carried too far: Since by definition asphyxiation is fatal, "one would not have a subsequent encounter."
This example turned up in the comments on the blog post I cited about the common misunderstanding of the meaning of "subsequent" in ICD-10. As a reader pointed out, in this case the formula has clearly been carried too far: Since by definition asphyxiation is fatal, "one would not have a subsequent encounter."
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