ICD-10 Code Follies

ICD-10 is the 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) which is a medical classification list developed by the World Health Organization for diseases, signs and symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances, and external causes of injury or diseases.

The international code set allows more than 14, 400 different codes and permits the tracking of many new diagnoses. The U.S. version of these ICD-10 codes has more than 68, 000 codes.

These are replacing the older ICD-9 codes.

The updating of the ICD-9 codes actually began in 1983. And over the years more and more code ideas were included in the master list—including some real head scratchers.

Here are some of our favorite hum-dingers.

Next time that ER nurse doubts your word when you say the water ski’s caught fire just look them in the eye and say “V91.07xD”!

Yeah, it could happen.

There are people who claim sharks like to be petted—like dogs. In case your shark doesn’t agree, there’s an ICD-10 code to cover what happens next.

Also known as the Cheney Code.

Good social skills and mental health go hand in hand. Hollywood has mined the comedic possibilities of what is, in reality, a serious problem for many people in shows like Seinfeld or movies like “What About Bob?”

Still, when it’s needed, there’s a code for that.

Our guess is that this is for the parents. Not the kids. “Why are you here?” says the ER nurse. “Sibling rivalry, ” says the Mom. No problem, we have a code for that. And a spa.

The vast majority of encounters with Orcas occur in the splash zone at Sea World. Maybe these smart mammals are trying to tell us something.

“Honest doctor, I was driving along and this guy with a blue face jogged by. Unbelievable! That’s why I hit the tree.” No problem. We’ve got your code.

A little bit of research uncovered one case, from 1966, where a knitting basket was left open, a child fell into it and was speared by one of the knitting needles. That was nearly 50 years ago. So, we’re due. And with code Y93.D1, we’re ready.

Seat belts. That’s all we’re saying.

Always the muscle atrophy. But hair. Whoever mentions weightless hair? No one. Finally we have a code to deal with epically unruly hair.

In 1905 a bridge on Metropolitan Opera stage collapsed, injuring nine actors. Interestingly, the opera resumed a few minutes later—once the injured were carted off. The audience stayed in their seats through it all!

Should that ever happen again, we now have the proper ICD-10 code.

President Trump. What Z73.1 was made for.

Final Thoughts

Actually dealing with the ICD-10 transition is no laughing matter—because it adds a significant amount of new detail and complexity to the coding process. Ironically and humorously, the bureaucratic impulse to over regulate also created these truly funny, ludicrous and illogical codes.

There are more. We only selected a few. Perhaps we’ll put together another group of priceless ICD-10 codes for another day.