Any possible thing that can happen to you that causes illness or injury has a code associated with it.
We know that after you go to the doctor, you’ll receive a bill for the services you received. But what most people don’t realize is the lengthy process it takes to create this bill, which includes coding your diagnosis, symptoms, and procedures.
The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is the publication that the US uses for coding and classifying. The US is currently on its 10th Revision (ICD-10) which includes Clinical Modification for medical diagnoses.
This publication has periodic revisions to reflect changes in the medical and healthcare field. Before this revision, the US had been using ICD-9 since the 1970s. It wasn’t until 2015 that this was finally updated to ICD-10.
Since the healthcare industry is always changing, it makes sense that it would need updates after over thirty years. The content of ICD-9 had limited data and was restrictive for coding, and new versions include more specific definitions.
The organization has since decided to update these classifications and codes more frequently. Their currently revising everything for ICD-11 which is set to release on January 1, 2022.
If you look through the current revision, some of these diagnosis codes are hard to take seriously. It makes you wonder what outrageous circumstances caused the need for the reclassified codes. Some of these are also non-billable because they have even more specific classifications.
Before it’s final send-off in two years, we took a look through the handbook and found some of the funniest ICD-10 codes that will make you laugh out loud.
Conclusion
After looking through some of these, you might have a better understanding of how complex medical coding is.
We don’t usually think about how detailed our diagnosis affects the billing process. But some codes aren’t billable, such as W59.22, Struck by turtle. Instead, they have more specific classifications including for initial and subsequent encounters.
Even the most outrageous codes have logic behind them. They make it easier to classify situations and certain instances have made them necessary to add. But these funny ICD-10 codes can make us laugh as we wonder what happened to cause those doctor visits.
Funniest ICD-10 Codes and Their Source
Animals
W53 - Contact with rodent
W55.21 - Bitten by cow
W55.41 - Bitten by pig
W56.12 - Struck by sea lion
W56.22XS - Struck by orca, sequela
W56.52XA - Struck by other fish, initial encounter
W59.22 - Struck by a turtle
W61.12XD - Struck by macaw, subsequent encounter
W61.39 - Other contact with chicken
W61.43 - Pecked by turkey
T63.443 - Toxic effect of venom of bees, assault
T63.621 - Toxic effect of contact with other jellyfish, accidental (unintentional)
Transportation
V00.01 - Pedestrian on foot injured in collision with roller-skater
V00.151 - Fall from heelies
V80.1 - Animal-rider or occupant of animal-drawn vehicle injured in collision with pedestrian or animal
Y93.01 - Activity, walking, marching and hiking
V94.810 - Civilian watercraft involved in water transport accident with military watercraft
V96.00XA - Unspecified balloon accident injuring occupant, initial encounter
V97.33 - Sucked into jet engine
W22.02 - Walked into lamp post
W37.0XXA - Explosion of bicycle tire, initial encounter
Hobbies
V91.07 - Burn due to water-skis on fire
Y92.017 - Garden or yard in single-family (private) house as the place of occurrence of the external cause
Y92.241 - Library as the place of occurrence of the external cause
Y92.253 - Opera house as the place of occurrence of the external cause
Y93.02 - Activity, running
Y93.G3 - Activity involving cooking and baking
Y93.D1 - Activity, knitting and crocheting
V98.3 - Accident to, on or involving ski lift
Love
W45.8XXA - Other foreign body or object entering through skin, initial encounter
R00.2 - Palpitations
R46.1 - Bizarre personal appearance
Z60.4 - Social exclusion and rejection
Z63.1 - Problems in relationship with in-laws
