All you need to know about new ICD-10 CM updates for 2021

ICD-10 CM went through a multitude of changes and updates for the year 2021. This article will focus on providing  the latest ICD-10 updates for medical professionals and service providers to implement in their practice.  

490 new codes are added to ICD-10 CM. Furthermore, 58 previously established codes are eradicated, and revisions are made to 47. Thus, the revised ICD-10 CM includes a total of 72,616 codes for the year 2021, which are  valid till September 2021. 

Summary of ICD-10 CM Updates for 2021

1. Chapter 1: Certain Infectious & Parasitic Disease (A00 – B99) 

A new section 1.g is introduced for reporting COVDI infections. 7 new diagnosis codes are added to provide  specificity to Tick-borne illnesses and Babesiosis. Furthermore, 2 previous established codes are deemed  invalid.

2. Chapter 3: Diseases of Blood & Blood-forming organs (D50-D89) 

43 new codes have been added to the chapter while 3 of the previously established codes have been revised.  Furthermore, 3 of the earlier codes have been deemed invalid. 

Amongst 43 of the new codes, 18 will provide greater specificity when reporting sickle cell anemia and  associated complications. The remaining 25 were introduced for autoimmune disorders and anemias.

3. Chapter 4: Endocrine, Nutritional & Metabolic Disease (E00-E89) 

6 new codes have been added to provide expansion in the amino acid metabolism disorders as well as glucose  transport disorders category . Additionally, 2 previously established codes have been deemed invalid.

4. Chapter 5: Mental, Behavioral and Neurodevelopmental Disorders (F01-F99) 

21 new codes have been added to provide specificity to the type of withdrawal from substance abuse including  alcohol, cocaine, and opioids. For example, F10.131 is one of the newly established codes for Alcohol abuse with withdrawal delirium.

5.Chapter 6: Diseases of the Nervous System (G00-G99) 

24 new codes have been added to provide expansion and specificity with congenital myopathies, cerebrospinal  fluid leaks, and intracranial hypotension. Moreover, 5 previously  established codes have been deemed invalid.

6.Chapter 7: Diseases of the eye and adnexa (H00-H59) 

29 new codes have been added to the chapter while 1 of the previously established code has been revised. Furthermore,  5 of the earlier codes have been deemed invalid. The newly introduced codes involve various types of corneal dystrophy and the laterality of right, left,  bilateral, or unspecified eyes.

7. Chapter 10: Diseases of the Respiratory System (J00-J99) 

6 new codes have been added while 2 of the previously established codes have been deemed invalid. Coding guidelines  for section 10.e involving vaping-related disorders have also been updated.

8. Chapter 11: Diseases of the Digestive System (K00-K95) 

11 new codes have been added that will provide specificity to gastroesophageal reflux disorder to indicate with  or without esophagitis and with or without hemorrhage. Additionally, 5 of the earlier codes have been deemed  invalid.

9. Chapter 13: Musculoskeletal System (M00 -M99)

57 new codes have been added while 3 of the previous codes have been deemed invalid. Amongst the new codes, 12  capture other pathological fractures (M80.8AX- and M80.0AX-). The remaining of them include an  expanded list of codes for rheumatoid arthritis, as well as primary and secondary arthritis, and arthritis  caused by trauma. Furthermore, new codes in the M24 category involve articular cartilage disorders,  disorders of the ligament, pathological dislocation, recurrent dislocation, contracture, and ankylosis.

10. Chapter 14: Disease of Genitourinary (N00-N99) 

15 new codes have been  added to the chapter while 1 of the previously established code has been deemed invalid. These updates bring two new sub-stages to Stage 3 chronic kidney disease (CKD). The new codes are  N18.30 (Chronic kidney disease, stage 3 unspecified), N18.31 (Chronic kidney disease, stage 3a), and  N18.32 (Chronic kidney disease, stage 3b).

11. Chapter 15: Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Puerperium (O00-O9A) 

5 new codes have been added in the chapter while 1 one of the previously established codes has been deemed invalid.  Additionally, a new section 15.s has been introduced that provides instruction on reporting COVID-19 infections  in pregnancy, childbirth, and the puerperium. Furthermore, coding guidelines involving Sepsis O85 has been  updated

12. Chapter 16: Certain Conditions Originating in the Perinatal Period (P00 -P99) 

4 new codes have been added for neonatal cerebral infarction. In addition to that, a new section 16.h has been  introduced for reporting COVID-19 infections in newborns with updated coding guidelines.

13. Chapter 17: Congenital Malformations, Deformations, and Chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99)

3 of the previously established codes have been revised while 1 of them has been deemed invalid. Revisions have been made to  the codes related to the congenital doubling of the uterus.

14. Chapter 18: Symptoms, Signs, and Abnormal Clinical and Laboratory Findings, Not Elsewhere Classified  (R00-R99) 

4 new codes have been added to the chapter while 2 of the previously established codes have been deemed invalid.  Furthermore, Code R51 (Headache) is now split into two codes: R51.0 (Headache with an orthostatic  component, not elsewhere classified) or R51.9 (Headache, unspecified).

15. Chapter 19: Injury, poisoning & certain other consequences (S00-T88) 

128 new codes have been added majorly for injury, poisoning, and adverse effects. 23 deleted codes. For  instance, poisoning by fentanyl and tramadol as well as other synthetic narcotics. Moreover, 23 of the  previously established codes have been deemed invalid.

16. Chapter 20: External Causes of morbidity (V00-Y99) 

125 new codes have been added in which the majority provide greater code expansion for pedestrian accidents.  Furthermore, 1 of the previously established code has been revised while 1 has been deemed invalid.

17. Chapter 21: Factors influencing health status and contact with health services (Z00-Z99)

3 new codes have been  added for observation of suspected ingested, aspirated, or inserted foreign bodies. Additionally, 39 previous established codes have been revised.

18. Chapter 22: Codes for Special Purposes (U00-U85) 

This is a new chapter introduced to ICD-10 CM which includes only 2 codes for COVID-19: U07.0 Vaping related disorder and U07.1