ICD-10 codes are routinely updated, revised, and sometimes, discontinued by the American Medical Association (AMA).
If one is discontinued, it will be based on the service date.
- For example, if you are using ICD-10 N18.3 for a patient and see in the image below that the code has been discontinued as of 10/01/2020, it will still be valid for dates of service up to 9/30/2020, but it will be invalid beginning 10/01/2020.
- You must specify an additional digit to use a form of the code.
Within the DrChrono EHR, the ICD code search will flag discontinued codes with a "Removed since YYYY-MM-DD" message.
When you receive the "removed" or "discontinued" message for a claim after the discontinuation date, you will need to select a different, more specific code for the claim to be accepted by the payer.