A Quick Reference Guide: ENT ICD-10 Codes
A list of some common otolaryngology ICD-10 codes to know.
Keeping abreast of all the otolaryngology coding changes can be its own job, and a tedious one at that. Technology, especially in the form of an ENT electronic health record (EHR) system, can certainly provide aid in staying up to date. Our otolaryngology EHR, EMA
, utilizes structured data to generate recommended ENT ICD-10 codes alongside CPT® and HCPCS codes. This is based on documentation you and your staff complete while reviewing your patient’s history, exam notes, plan of care and procedures.
When our otolaryngology EHR is used in tandem with our Practice Management system and Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) service, the billing information is sent to our RCM team. They review it and process your claim, helping to eliminate guesswork and facilitate faster payments for each encounter.
How did we get to the point where getting paid can depend on your ability to match up a series of numbers? Let’s take a quick look at the background of ICD-10 to help put this all in perspective.
What is ICD-10? And a little history, too
According to The World Health Organization (WHO):
ICD is the foundation for the identification of health trends and statistics globally, and the international standard for reporting diseases and health conditions. It is the diagnostic classification standard for all clinical and research purposes. ICD defines the universe of diseases, disorders, injuries and other related health conditions, listed in a comprehensive, hierarchical fashion.
October 1, 2015 marked the implementation date for ICD-10 codes. The ICD-10 code sets include greater detail, changes in terminology and expanded concepts for injuries, laterality and other related factors as compared to their predecessor, ICD-9 codes. The complexity of ICD-10 provides many benefits because of the increased level of detail conveyed in the codes. There were approximately 3,000 ICD-9 codes at the time of its departure, and with the introduction of ICD-10, this increased to approximately 87,000 codes. The fact sheet from the American Medical Association (AMA) goes into more detail. As of October 1, 2018, there were 71,932 ICD-10 codes, which shows just how challenging this could be to keep up with manually.
Some Commonly Used 2019 ENT ICD-10
This post highlights some of the most commonly used 2019 ICD-10 codes for otolaryngology. For a complete list of ICD-10 codes and additional details on changes, please visit the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website.
Some Common ENT ICD-10 Codes
| J30.1 | Allergic rhinitis due to pollen |
| H90.3 | Sensorineural hearing loss, bilateral |
| J34.2 | Deviated nasal septum |
| J30.9 | Allergic rhinitis, unspecified |
| H61.23 | Impacted cerumen, bilateral |
| K21.9 | Gastroesophageal reflux disease without esophagitis |
| J34.3 | Hypertrophy of nasal turbinates |
| J31.0 | Chronic rhinitis |
| J32.9 | Chronic sinusitis, unspecified |
| H69.80 | Other specified disorders of Eustachian tube, unspecified ear |
| H61.20 | Impacted cerumen, unspecified ear |
| L82.1 | Other seborrheic keratosis |
| L57.0 | Actinic keratosis |
| D22.5 | Melanocytic nevi of trunk |
| J34.89 | Other specified disorders of nose and nasal sinuses |
| H69.83 | Other specified disorders of Eustachian tube, bilateral |
| R42 | Dizziness and giddiness |
| R49.0 | Dysphonia |
| H93.19 | Tinnitus, unspecified ear |
| D48.5 | Neoplasm of uncertain behavior of skin |
| J32.0 | Chronic maxillary sinusitis |
| L81.4 | Other melanin hyperpigmentation |
| J30.2 | Other seasonal allergic rhinitis |
| R05 | Cough |
| R04.0 | Epistaxis |
If you are looking for an ENT software solution to help when it comes to suggesting ICD-10 codes, I encourage you to learn more about how EMA can help.
Danielle Zarnowiec, MBA and Ronda Tews, CPC, CHC, CCS-P, AAPC Fellow
Danielle Zarnowiec, MBA | Requirements Analyst
Danielle Zarnowiec joined Modernizing Medicine in October 2012 and in her current role she serves as the team lead for EMA’s Medical Coding Engine and RCM’s Intelligent Claims Engine.
Previously, Danielle was the owner and operator of a Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) company specializing in medical coding consulting, revenue cycle management and physician quality reporting.
Danielle earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from St. Andrews University where she served as captain of the NCAA women’s soccer and tennis teams. She then graduated from Palm Beach Atlantic University with an MBA in international business. Connect with Danielle on LinkedIn.
Ronda Tews, CPC, CHC, CCS-P, AAPC Fellow | Director of Billing and Coding Compliance
Ronda Tews, Certified Professional Coder (CPC), Certified in Healthcare Compliance (CHC), and Certified Coding Specialist-Physician (CCS-P), is the director of billing and coding compliance at Modernizing Medicine® and brings over two decades of robust healthcare compliance experience to the organization. In her current role, she develops and manages the billing and coding compliance program for the company. Ronda performs billing and coding compliance audits among other related functions while maintaining knowledge of current regulatory and compliance guidance.
Prior to her time at Modernizing Medicine, Ronda held various roles such as managing provider compliance for a large health plan in Oklahoma and creating a fraud, waste and abuse program. Ronda’s duties have consisted of conducting E/M audits on physicians and mid-level providers, establishing internal auditing and monitoring, as well as teaching basic coding classes to co-workers and providing E/M documentation training to physicians and mid-level providers. She has also implemented compliance education and training programs, managed the Compliance Report Line as well as compliance auditing and monitoring. Ronda also provided coding and documentation education at Missouri State University to the physician assistant students on an annual basis. Ronda has held various roles such as serving as a Quality Improvement analyst and working as a corporate compliance project manager for a large Mid-Western health system.
Ronda founded the Springfield, MO AAPC chapter where she served as the president and treasurer. She remains very active in the industry as she writes articles for industry publications and can be found speaking at conferences. Connect with Ronda on LinkedIn.