Remember the time a patient walked in with that gruesome killer whale bite on his leg? Even worse, do you recall what a pain it was to bill their insurance? Well, probably not, but just in case this ever does happen to you, CMS has created an ICD-10 code for it: W5621XA – Bitten by orca, initial encounter.
While the ICD-10 transition is no laughing matter, the federal government, with its exceptional ability to over-document everything, has created a series of diagnosis codes that had us cracking up here at PYP.
So, we’re going to take advantage of the fact that it’s the end of the workweek and has a little fun with CMS. Without further adieu, we present you with the Awards for the Most Bizarre ICD-10 codes.
In the Animal category:
Bronze: Bitten by a turtle – W5921XS
Silver: Bitten by sea lion – W5611XD
Gold: Struck by macaw – W6112XA (Pesky, talking birds)
In the Water Sports category:
Bronze: Hit or struck by falling object due to accident to canoe or kayak – V9135XA
Silver: Civilian watercraft involved in water transport accident with military watercraft – V94810
Gold: Burn due to water-skis on fire – V9107XA (Evel Knievel is reborn!)
In the Strange Places category:
Bronze: Hurt at the library – Y92241
Silver: Hurt at swimming pool of prison as the place of occurrence – Y92146
Gold: Hurt at the opera – Y92253 (The fat lady can get a tad cranky when she doesn’t get to sing.)
In the Air/Space Category:
Bronze: Prolonged stay in a weightless environment – X52
Silver: Unspecified balloon accident injuring occupant – V9600XS
Gold: Spacecraft crash injuring occupant – V9542XA (Eyes to the skies, people.)
In the Just Plain Weird Category:
Bronze: Hurt walking into a lamppost – W2202XA
Silver: Stabbed while crocheting – Y93D1
Gold: Unspecified event, undetermined intent – Y34 (Well, that clarifies things…)
Now back to the serious stuff. If you’re looking for some useful information on the upcoming ICD-10 transition, check out our ICD-10 Resource Guide for Physicians.
