2023 ICD-10-PCS Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting
Published on
Wednesday, June 8, 2022
Did You Know?
The 2023 ICD-10-PCS files are now available on the CMS website (link). For FY 2023, there are 331 new codes and 64 deleted codes bringing the total number of ICD-10-PCS codes to 78,496.
Included in the files is the FY 2023 ICD-10-PCS Guidelines for Coding and Reporting. Changes to the guidelines for FY 2023 includes:
- New Root Operation guideline B3.19 (Detachment procedures of extremities), and
- In response to public comment and internal review, two revised sections:
- Body Part general guideline B4.1c, and
- Device general guideline B6.1a.
Changes to the ICD-10 PCS codes will be in effect for discharges occurring from October 1, 2022, through September 30, 2023.
Body Part General Guideline B4.1c
The revision made to B4.1c clarifies the meaning of a “continuous section of a tubular body part.”
- B4.1c FY 2022 Guideline: “If a procedure is performed on a continuous section of a tubular body part, code the body part value corresponding to the anatomically most proximal (closest to the heart) portion of the tubular body part.”
- FY 2023 B4.1c Revision: “If a singular vascular procedure is performed on a continuous section of an arterial or venous body part, code the body part value corresponding to the anatomically most proximal (closest to the heart) portion of the arterial or venous body part.”
Device General Guideline B6.1a
Guidance at B61.a informs coders that when a device is intended to remain after the procedure is completed but requires removal before the end of the operative episode in which it is inserted, both the insertion and removal of the device should be coded.
The revision made to B6.1a is the text for the example provided for when you would code both insertion and removal.
- FY 2022: “(for example, the device size is inadequate or a complication occurs)”
- FY 2023: “(for example, the device size is inadequate or an event documented as a complication occurs).”
Why it Matters?
CMS notes, on the opening page of the 2023 ICD-10-PCS Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting, “These guidelines have been developed to assist both the healthcare provider and the coder in identifying those procedures that are to be reported. The importance of consistent, complete documentation in the medical record cannot be overemphasized. Without such documentation accurate coding cannot be achieved.”
What Can You Do?
Prepare for the October 1, 2022, start of the CMS FY 2023 by informing coding and clinical documentation professionals at your facility that the FY 2023 ICD-10-PCS files have been released allowing adequate time to review the new ICD-10-PCS codes as well as revisions to the coding and reporting guidelines.
Article Author: Beth Cobb, RN, BSN, ACM, CCDS
Beth Cobb, RN, BSN, ACM, CCDS, is the Manager of Clinical Analytics at Medical Management Plus, Inc. Beth has over twenty-five years of experience in healthcare including eleven years in Case Management at a large multi-facility health system. In her current position, Beth is a principle writer for MMP’s Wednesday@One weekly e-newsletter, an active member of our HIPAA Compliance Committee, MMP’s Education Department Program Director and co-developer of MMP’s proprietary Compliance Protection Assessment Tool.
