ICD-10 Procedure Coding System


The ICD-10 Procedure Coding System is an international system of medical classification used for procedural coding. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency responsible for maintaining the inpatient procedure code set in the U.S., contracted with 3M Health Information Systems in 1995 to design and then develop a procedure classification system to replace Volume 3 of ICD-9-CM. ICD-9-CM contains a procedure classification; ICD-10-CM does not. ICD-10-PCS is the result. ICD-10-PCS was initially released in 1998. It has been updated annually since that time.

Section structure

Each code consists of seven alphanumeric characters. The first character is the 'section'. The second through seventh characters mean different things in each section. Each character can be any of 34 possible values the ten digits 0-9 and the 24 letters A-H, J-N and P-Z may be used in each character. The letters O and I are excluded to avoid confusion with the numbers 0 and 1. There are no decimals in ICD-10-PCS
Of the 72,081 codes in ICD-10-PCS, 62,022 are in the first section, "Medical and surgical".
Character 1Character 2Character 3Character 4Character 5Character 6Character 7
0 Medical and SurgicalBody System
0 Central nervous system; 1 Peripheral nervous system; 2 Heart and Great vessels; 3 Upper arteries; 4 Lower arteries; 5 Upper veins; 6 Lower veins; 7 Lymphatic and Hemic system; 8 Eye; 9 Ear, Nose, Sinus; B Respiratory System; C Mouth and Throat; D Gastrointestinal system; F Hepatobiliary System and Pancreas; G Endocrine system; H Skin and Breast; J Subcutaneous tissue; K Muscles; L Tendons; M Bursae and Ligaments; N Head and Facial bones; P Upper bones; Q Lower bones; R Upper joints; S Lower joints; T Urinary system; U Female reproductive system; V Male reproductive system; W Anatomical regions, General; X Anatomical regions, Upper extremities; Y Anatomical regions, Lower extremities		Root Operation
see below		Body PartApproach
0 Open; 3 Percutaneous; 4 Percutaneous Endoscopic; 7 Via Natural or Artificial Opening; 8 Via Natural or Artificial Opening Endoscopic; F Via Natural or Artificial Opening Endoscopic with Percutaneous Endoscopic Assistance; X External		DeviceQualifier
1 Obstetrics Pregnancy102 Change; 109 Drainage; 10A Abortion; 10D Extraction; 10E Delivery; 10H Insertion; 10J Inspection; 10P Removal; 10Q Repair; 10S Reposition; 10T Resection; 10Y TransplantationBody PartApproachDeviceQualifier
2 Placement Anatomical Regions; Anatomical OrificesRoot Operation
2?0 Change; 2?1 Compression; 2?2 Dressing; 2?3 Immobilization; 2?4 Packing; 2?5 Removal; 2?6 Traction		Body Region/OrificeApproachDeviceQualifier
3 Administration Circulatory; Indwelling Device; Physiological Systems and Anatomical RegionsRoot OperationBody System/RegionApproachSubstanceQualifier
4 Measurement and Monitoring Physiological Systems; Physiological DevicesRoot OperationBody SystemApproachFunctionQualifier
5 Extracorporeal Assistance and Performance Physiological SystemsRoot OperationBody SystemDurationFunctionQualifier
6 Extracorporeal Therapies Physiological SystemsRoot Operation
Atmospheric control; Decompression; Electromagnetic therapy; Hyperthermia; Hypothermia; Pheresis; Phototherapy; Ultrasound therapy; Ultraviolet light therapy; Shock wave therapy		Body SystemDurationQualifierQualifier
7 OsteopathicBody RegionApproachMethodQualifier
8 Other Procedures Indwelling Device; Physiological Systems and Anatomical RegionsRoot OperationBody RegionApproachMethodQualifier
9 ChiropracticBody RegionApproachMethodQualifier
B ImagingBody System
0 Central Nervous System; 2 Heart; 3 Upper Arteries; 4 Lower Arteries; 5 Veins; 7 Lymphatic System; 8 Eye; 9 Ear, Nose, Mouth and Throat; B Respiratory System; D Gastrointestinal System; F Hepatobiliary System and Pancreas; G Endocrine System; H Skin, Subcutaneous Tissue and Breast; L Connective Tissue; N Skull and Facial Bones; P Non-Axial Upper Bones; Q Non-Axial Lower Bones; R Axial Skeleton, Except Skull and Facial Bones; T Urinary System; U Female Reproductive System; V Male Reproductive System; W Anatomical Regions; Y Fetus and Obstetrical		Root TypeBody PartContrast
0=high osmolar contrast; 1=low osmolar contrast; z=other contrast		QualifierQualifier
C Nuclear medicineBody System
0 Central Nervous System; 2 Heart; 5 Veins; 7 Lymphatic and Hematologic System; 8 Eye; 9 Ear, Nose, Mouth and Throat; B Respiratory System; D Gastrointestinal System; F Hepatobiliary System and Pancreas; G Endocrine System; H Skin, Subcutaneous Tissue and Breast; P Musculoskeletal System; T Urinary System; V Male Reproductive System; W Anatomical Regions		Root TypeBody PartRadionuclideQualifierQualifier
D Radiation oncologyBody System
0 Central and Peripheral Nervous System; 7 Lymphatic and Hematologic System; 8 Eye; 9 Ear, Nose, Mouth and Throat; B Respiratory System; D Gastrointestinal System; F Hepatobiliary System and Pancreas; G Endocrine System; H Skin; M Breast; P Musculoskeletal System; T Urinary System; U Female Reproductive System; V Male Reproductive System; W Anatomical Regions		Root TypeBody PartModality QualifierIsotopeQualifier
F Physical rehabilitation and Diagnostic Audiology Rehabilitation; Diagnostic AudiologyRoot TypeBody System & RegionType QualifierEquipmentQualifier
G Mental health NoneRoot Type
Psychological tests; Crisis intervention; Medication management; Individual psychotherapy; Counseling; Family psychotherapy; Electroconvulsive therapy; Biofeedback; Hypnosis; Narcosynthesis; Group psychotherapy; Light therapy		Type QualifierQualifierQualifierQualifier
H Substance abuse Treatment NoneRoot TypeType QualifierQualifierQualifierQualifier
New Technology

Root operations

For medical/surgical, these are the root operation codes:
00 alteration; 01 bypass; 02 change; 03 control; 04 creation; 05 destruction; 06 detachment; 07 dilation; 08 division; 09 drainage; 0B excision; 0C extirpation; 0D extraction; 0F fragmentation; 0G fusion; 0H insertion; 0J inspection; 0K map; 0L occlusion; 0M reattachment; 0N release; 0P removal; 0Q repair; 0R replacement; 0S reposition; 0T resection; 0U supplement ; 0V restriction; 0X transfer; 0Y transplantation
They can be grouped into several categories: