AHA Coding Clinic® for ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS - 2022 Issue 4; New/Revised ICD-10-CM Codes
Dementia: Stage of Severity, Behavioral and Physical Symptoms
New subcategories have been created with new codes under categories F01, Vascular Dementia, F02, Dementia in other diseases classified elsewhere, and F03, Unspecified Dementia.Vascular dementia (F01.511-F01.C4) Dementia in other diseases classified elsewhere (F02.811-F02.C4) Unspecified dementia (F03.911-F03.C4) Sixty-nine new codes have been created under these categories to recognize the stages of severity and to identify the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). Dementia is a progressive disease, now also regularly referred to as major neurocognitive disorder. Dementia is characterized by a significant decline in cognitive function in the areas of memory...
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Article Overview
This article covers ICD-10-CM updates related to dementia severity staging and behavioral or psychological symptoms of dementia across vascular dementia, dementia in other diseases classified elsewhere, and unspecified dementia. It is intended for coding professionals and clinical documentation reviewers who need to understand how the updated categories are organized and what kinds of clinical information the revisions are designed to capture.
Why This Topic Matters
Accurate dementia documentation and code selection depend on recognizing severity and associated symptoms as separate clinical elements. This article helps readers understand the scope of the new dementia code structure and the documentation concepts it is meant to support.
Article Sections
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New dementia subcategories and code groupings
Introduces the updated ICD-10-CM dementia categories and the broad groups affected by the revision. It also notes the creation of new codes within these areas.
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Dementia severity stages
Reviews the general clinical progression of dementia into stages of increasing impairment. The section focuses on how severity is described in broad functional terms.
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Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD)
Describes the types of behavioral, psychotic, and mood-related symptoms associated with dementia documentation. It explains the general purpose of capturing these symptoms in clinical records.
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Documentation importance across stages and symptoms
Discusses why staging and symptom documentation matter for clinical data purposes. It emphasizes that symptoms may vary over time and across patients.
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Clinical example
Presents a dementia-related scenario involving Alzheimer’s disease, symptom reporting, and an additional functional condition. The example illustrates the overall documentation theme of the article.
What You Will Learn
- How recent ICD-10-CM dementia category updates are organized
- How dementia severity is described in general clinical terms
- What types of behavioral and psychological symptoms are referenced in dementia documentation
- Why stage and symptom documentation matter for coding and clinical data
Who Should Read This
- Medical coders
- Coding auditors
- Clinical documentation specialists
- Health information management professionals
- Physician documentation reviewers
Codes Discussed
Code Ranges Discussed
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