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Coding Situational Anxiety

Published on 

Tuesday, September 1, 2020

 | RAC Information 
 | FAQ 

Q:

Situational Depression is coded to F43.21, Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood per the Alphabetic Index. Would it be appropriate to assign Adjustment Disorder with Anxiety, F43.22, for Situational Anxiety?

A:

No, assign F41.8, Other Specified Anxiety Disorder, when Situational Anxiety is documented with no further specification. Adjustment Disorder with Anxiety, F43.22 would not be used since an adjustment disorder was not documented.

References:

August 24, 2020, Coding Clinic Correspondence 

Article Author: Anita Meyers, RHIT, CCS
Anita Meyers, RHIT, CCS, is an Inpatient Coding Professional at Medical Management Plus. Anita has over twenty-six years of experience in inpatient and outpatient coding including 17 years of work at AQAF reviewing inpatient and outpatient records from Alabama hospitals. In addition to reviewing records she was the team leader in Beneficiary Services where she participated in case review activities, received and processed beneficiary complaints and handled fee-for-service denials for home health, hospice and skilled nursing facility services. Prior to joining the MMP team, Anita left AQAF to become an inpatient contract coder and worked at various hospitals in central Alabama. In her current position, Anita is an integral part of the Inpatient Services at Medical Management Plus.

This material was compiled to share information.  MMP, Inc. is not offering legal advice. Every reasonable effort has been taken to ensure the information is accurate and useful.