J U l y 2 0 1 6 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 3 7
M51.34
Other intervertebral disc degeneration,
thoracic region
M51.35
Other intervertebral disc degeneration,
thoracolumbar region
M51.36
Other intervertebral disc degeneration,
lumbar region
M51.37
Other intervertebral disc degeneration,
lumbosacral region
ICD-10 Degenerative Disc Disease Diagnosis Codes
The higher level of detail in ICD-10
codes lets you more precisely code the
diagnosis. Take degenerative disc dis-
ease (DDD), for example. In ICD-9, a
diagnosis of DDD with no mention of
the anatomical site was coded as 722.6,
Degeneration intervertebral disc site,
unspecified. For ICD-10, you must code
all claims to the highest level of speci-
ficity. Note that the unspecified code in
ICD-9-CM does not map to an unspeci-
fied option in ICD-10-CM. There isn't a
degenerative intervertebral disc site
unspecified in ICD-10-CM, since physi-
cians know the specific level of the degeneration if their intent is
to treat the site, as the table below shows.
— Cristina Bentin, CCS-P, COC, CMA
DETAIL YOUR DIAGNOSIS
ICD-10-CM's Heightened Level of Specificity
• BE SPECIFIC Your providers may be used to
providing unspecific documentation, but moving
forward you'll receive more denials if they don't
detail their diagnoses.
