Keep these ICD-10 codes handy for the Thanksgiving holidays
From excessive sleepiness to family squabbles, the extended holiday season can be dangerous to your health.
10 helpful ICD-10 codes for the Thanksgiving holidays
Stretching over four days, the Thanksgiving Day holidays are often much anticipated by…well, everyone. Who can argue with good food, semi-good football and a head start on the Christmas shopping season? Ah, but dangers lurk, and health risks could lurk around every corner. A few years back, HDM turned to ADP AdvancedMD, a vendor of ambulatory practice management/electronic health records software and outsourced billing services, for a list of ICD-10 codes that could describe common and odd reasons why some folks may wind up in the emergency department during the Thanksgiving Holiday. Given the staff’s experience in such matters, we’ve added a couple maladies of our own. Enjoy, but be careful out there…
Y93.G3 Activity, cooking and baking
Ah, the turkey is roasting and the potatoes are boiling. And Cousin Carl just chopped the end of his finger off while preparing the veggie tray. He will earn this ICD-10 code, along with W26.0, Contact with Knife, to forever remember this year’s Thanksgiving…and that nasty scar.
W61.42 Struck by turkey, W71.43 pecked by turkey, W61.49 other contact with turkey
Thanksgiving isn’t Thanksgiving without a turkey. If there is a terrible mishandling of dinner’s main dish, or if a still-alive gobbler exacts revenge, ICD-10 has three codes that are perfect for the season’s avian-related incident.
R63.2 Polyphagia (overeating)
Seriously, do we need to say more? This can cover all those varieties of food that we only have at this time of year…and in vast quantity. This is a code that will get some use.
S11.24 Puncture wound with foreign body of pharynx and cervical esophagus
OK, careful carving of the turkey will lessen the risk of chewing on a bone and swallowing it, risking damage to your esophagus, but here’s this code in case you need it. And you never know, KFC for many can be the go-to comfort food for post-holiday meals.
W21.01 Struck by football
Another Thanksgiving staple is the good old American sport of football. Usually, unless there is cheering for opposing teams, televised football games are safe enough. But a well-intentioned family flag-football game can result in a quick trip to the nearest hospital emergency department.
Y04.0 Assault by unarmed brawl or fight
Black Friday shopping has become just as much a part of Thanksgiving as stuffing and pumpkin pie. But this mass hysteria for great deals doesn’t come without risks—especially when there are two shoppers and only one great bargain up for grabs. Get your extreme shopping skills up to snuff or Y04.0 and Y92.59 (other trade areas, mall) as the place of occurrence of external cause, may be jotted in your electronic health records.
H53.10 Unspecified subjective visual disturbances
In anticipation of the big shopping weekend, there’s an endless amount of preparation that can be undertaken. How many reviews can you possibly read, and how much comparison-shopping preparation is too much? It’s no wonder that the eyes can grow pretty weary.
W21.01 Lack of adequate sleep
No matter how we choose to celebrate Thanksgiving, few of us escape the meal prep, early morning shopping and family togetherness without a mild case of exhaustion. For those who try to do it all, there is an ICD-10 code for that. Or you may want to jot down Z72.820 (sleep deprivation) or R53.83 (other fatigue).
F34.9 Persistent mood disorder
Well, daylight keeps getting hard to come by, whether it’s because of cloud cover or because of late sunrises and early sunsets. Seasonal affective disorder is challenging for many, and shorter daylight hours during Thanksgiving can be demoralizing, especially with the shortest day of the year still weeks away.
Z63.79 Other stressful life events affecting family and household
Mix in large numbers of family members who don’t typically get together, maybe a little too much holiday cheer, and relationships can be a little stressful. Sprinkle in some discussion of political persuasions, and a little strife might also be on the menu.