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List of ICD-10 Codes for Chiropractors

The ICD-10, or International Classification of Disease, is the 10th revision of the set of codes developed by the World Health Organization to classify disease by giving each health condition its own alphanumeric code. There are more than 68,000 total. When signing up for Medicare, you pay for particular benefits. ICD codes are used in medical schemes to determine what patients are entitled to and treated for so that claims can be properly settled. If wrong ICD codes are used, which describe the wrong condition, there can be problems with payments. Many chiropractors are worried that ICD-10 codes do not accurately describe common diagnoses made by them, and improper codes can mean legal action against them.

  1. What is Chiropractic?

    • Chiropractic focuses on musculoskeletal and nervous system disorders, and their effects on health. Chiropractors treat neck, back and joint pain. Because of their area of practice, most chiropractors will use only a few sections of the ICD-10 codes. The system uses both letters and numbers. First comes the letter of the block, which indicates the general area of disease. M, for example, refers to "diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue." After the letter are two numbers, separated by a decimal, which add more specific information. For example, if you see 21.9, 21 refers to "other acquired deformities of limbs" and 9 to "unequal limb length." This would simply be written as M21.7.

    Chapter 13 - Block M

    • Chapter 13 is titled "Diseases of the Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue" and is broken down in to six main sections, four of which are relevant to chiropractors. Blocks M00 to M25, titled "Arthropathies," concern diseases of the joints. M40 to M54, entitled "Dorsopathies," concern diseases of the spine. M80 to M94, titled "Osteopathies and Chondropathies" deal with bone and cartilage disease. The last section is titled "Other Disorders of the Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue," for those not covered elsewhere.

    Chapter 17 - Block Q

    • Chapter 17, titled "Congenital Malformations, Deformations and Chromosomal Abnormalities," deals with birth defects. Chiropractors will mostly be concerned with blocks Q65 to Q79 entitled "Congenital malformations and deformations of the musculoskeletal system." These sections deal with limbs that were malformed or missing since birth.

    Chapter 19 - Blocks S and T

    • Blocks S and T are grouped under the title "Injury, Poisoning and Certain Other Consequences of External Causes," and deal mainly with trauma related injuries. Here, chiropractors will mostly be concerned with a few of the subsections in sections 2 to 12, or blocks S00 to T14. These blocks deal with sprains, fractures and dislocations of all the bones from the neck down to the feet.

    Chapter 20 - Blocks V, W, X and Y

    • Blocks V through Y are grouped under the title "External causes of morbidity and mortality." Chiropractors will mostly be concerned with block V, which deals with transportation accidents. This means being in a motor accident or injured by a moving vehicle. This does not cover being injured while working on a vehicle, injuries such as crushing a finger in a car door or purposely being hit by a car. Sections W00 to W64 cover other accidents, such as falling or sports injuries. Blocks X60 to Y09 deal with self-inflicted harm and harm caused by assault. Sections Y96 and Y98 concern general work and lifestyle-related conditions.

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