New pain management codes in first ICD-10-CM update

Why This Topic Matters

The update changed how several common pain and neurologic diagnoses are represented in ICD-10-CM, making it important for accurate diagnosis reporting, code lookup, and documentation review.

Article Sections

1. New diagnosis codes effective Oct. 1, 2016

   Introduces the ICD-10-CM update date and frames the article as a review of new diagnosis coding changes. It sets up the major pain-related categories covered in the body of the article.

2. Hand pain

   Discusses the revised diagnosis options related to hand and finger joint pain. The section focuses on the general reporting changes affecting this symptom area.

3. Bilateral nervous system codes

   Covers the addition of bilateral diagnosis options within several nervous system categories. The section addresses multiple lower- and upper-extremity mononeuropathy groupings and related bilateral reporting changes.

4. Cervical disc disorders

   Explains the updated organization of mid-cervical disc disorder diagnoses in the ICD-10-CM update. The section covers the broader expansion of this category into more specific diagnosis groupings.

5. Testicular pain

   Reviews the revised diagnosis options for testicular and scrotal pain and the related replacement of a deleted code. The section also notes the related broader condition category mentioned in the article.