Get Expert Help with Your Medical Coding or Compliance Issues. Request a Free Consultation

New Guidelines for Reporting Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 Effective April 1, 2020

New Guidelines for Reporting Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 Effective April 1, 2020 March 18, 2020

The ICD-10 Committee announced today, they are adopting U07.1 (COVID-19) for reporting confirmed cases effective April 1, 2020 which is sooner than the original planned effective date of October.  

For confirmed cases after April 1, ICD-10 code U07.1 should be reported as the primary diagnosis and pneumonia and other manifestations should be reported as secondary. 

The following guidelines apply to all cases prior to April 1 and all unconfirmed cases after April 1:

Condition ICD-10 Diagnosis Codes
Pneumonia, confirmed as due to COVID-19 J12.89, B97.29
Acute bronchitis, confirmed as due to COVID-19 J20.8, B97.29
Bronchitis NOS, confirmed as due to COVID-19 J40, B97.29
Acute/lower respiratory infection NOS, confirmed as due to COVID-19 J22, B97.29
Respiratory infection NOS, confirmed as due to COVID-19 J98.8, B97.29
Acute respiratory distress syndrome, confirmed as due to COVID-19 J80, B97.29
Possible exposure to COVID-19, condition ruled-out Z03.818
Exposure to confirmed COVID-19 Z20.828

Coders should follow the Official ICD-10 guidelines for guidance on sequencing, reporting signs and symptoms and reporting conditions stated as “suspected”, “possible” or probable”.

We recommend providing immediate training to your clinicians regarding proper documentation related to COVID-19.  We also recommend providing immediate training to your coders regarding proper ICD-10 assignment for encounters related to COVID-19.

Ready to discuss your project with us?