How ICD-10 Combination Codes Streamline Medical Coding

by  Find-A-Code™
Jan 8th, 2024

If there is one thing that keeps the pressure on medical coders, it is the need for efficiency. Fortunately, there are a few tricks of the trade that coders can employ to be more efficient. One of them is using ICD-10-CM combination codes when applicable. These codes are often described as tools for doing more with less.

As you probably know, ICD-10 codes are diagnostic codes intended to capture medical diagnoses in a standardized way. But the more complex a diagnosis is, the more difficult it can be to apply the right code. The difficulties are only exacerbated when medical coders are dealing with multiple diagnoses during a single encounter. Enter the combination code.

More About ICD-10 Combination Codes

ICD-10 combination codes represent a neat and tidy way to bundle two or more related diagnoses or medical conditions. If you'd prefer a more official definition, the 2024 Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting state the following:

A combination code is a single code used to classify: 

• • Two diagnoses, or
  • A diagnosis with an associated secondary process (manifestation)
  • A diagnosis with an associated complication

By utilizing combination codes, a medical coder can avoid the practice of generating long lists of unnecessary codes that only complicate matters. The entire process is streamlined, making it easier for coders and billers alike.

3 Reasons to Embrace Combination Codes

Embracing ICD-10 combination codes can take some getting used to if you have never utilized them before. It's almost as though you need to unlearn how to code multiple diagnoses and start over with a new process. But there are particularly good reasons for doing so. Here are just three of them:

1. Greater Accuracy – The combination codes were designed to, among other things, improve coding accuracy. Combination codes offer a more precise description of a patient's health and diagnoses by capturing a more complete clinical analysis.
2. Greater Efficiency – Utilizing combination codes simplifies the coding process. It saves time and resources, thereby making the coding and billing processes more efficient.
3. Better Data – All of the data generated by medical coders is used for analysis and decision making at the administrative level. It turns out that combination codes improve the quality of the data decision makers have to work with. Better data should lead to better decisions.

It's a safe bet that medical coders don't spend significant portions of their day worrying about administrative decisions. But they do think an awful lot about accuracy and efficiency inasmuch as both affect job performance. So for those two reasons alone, learning how to use combination codes is worthwhile.

Different Types of Codes

There are different types of ICD-10 combination codes relating to a broad range of medical diagnoses and circumstances. As such, using the codes is not a simple matter of spending ten minutes reviewing documentation and then moving forward. Like anything else involving ICD-10, practice and experience help a lot.

Here are just three of the most common combination code types:

1. Dual Diagnoses – These are codes that describe two distinct diagnoses
2. Diagnosis with Manifestation – These are codes that combine diagnoses with a symptom or manifestation thereof
3. Diagnosis with Complication – These are codes that combine diagnoses with their related complication

The hardest part of using ICD-10-CM combination codes is identifying the right code from within the ICD-10-CM Alphabetic Index or Tabular List. But with enough practice, it becomes as easy as online diagnostic code lookup.

If you have never given much effort to learning and utilizing ICD-10 combination codes, why not make 2024 the year to do so? Combination codes could be a game changer in your day-to-day work.