ICD 10 Code for Asthmatic Bronchitis: Essential Things You Need to Know

The International Classification of Diseases or ICD 10 Code for Asthmatic Bronchitis is a part of the new set of codes adopted by the health care system in the USA. The country started implementing it last October 2015, and many healthcare providers consider it as a major upgrade to its predecessor, the ICD-9 codes.

The ICD-9 was introduced for the very first time in the late 70s. It was considered quite extensive at that time, and it was composed of 14,000 codes. However, after three decades and with the recent advancements in medical care and technology, it can no longer accommodate additional codes.

Therefore, in order to provide a better healthcare system, it became important for the health care providers to come up with a new set of codes that can keep up with the modern advancements and that is what they did by adopting the ICD-10 Codes.

For a better understanding, we will inform you about the significance of ICD-10 codes and why experts consider it as a major step for improving the healthcare system in the USA. We will also take a look at the ICD 10 Code for Asthmatic Bronchitis and how it deals with patients suffering from this problem.

The ICD-10 Codes: An Overview

The ICD-10 Codes were actually developed almost 20 years ago in other parts of the world. Many countries, including France, Canada, and China, were already using ICD-10 at a time when the US healthcare system was still using its previous version, the ICD-9. One reason why other countries were so efficient in adopting the ICD-10 codes is that the ICD-9 codes were simply unviable to deal with the medical details comprehensively.

For example, the 9th version of the International Classification of Diseases was unable to describe accurate medical descriptions which are of the great essence for both the patients as well as the insurance companies. It was also ill-equipped when it comes to describing the severity of a disease and the way in which it was affecting the patient on a regular basis.

• General Significance

The ICD-10 consists of approximately 69,000 codes. Each code compromises three to seven characters, and each digit is used to describe a specific term.

The first three characters of each code of the ICD-10 refers to the category of that disease. It means that an expert healthcare provider can tell you about the disease from which you are suffering from after reading the first digit. The next three characters are used to specify other clinical details such as the cause of your disease and its severity. The last digit is simply an extension which can be used to describe extra information.

Such a wide range of digits ensure that a healthcare provider can provide extensive information about your condition without accumulating too much space on the paper. It also allows the healthcare personnel to work with greater flexibility which eventually results in a better diagnosis.

In addition, since the healthcare provider no longer has to write detailed information about the patient’s medical condition, confidentiality and patient’s privacy are better achieved. Further, these codes also come in handy for your insurance provider because they can handle all the claims with complete accuracy.

Now that we have given you a clearer understanding of the code, in general, let us now focus on asthmatic bronchitis.

Asthmatic Bronchitis: A Simple Explanation

In order to understand the ICD 10 code for this disease, it is important that you should be familiar with what actually asthmatic bronchitis is and how it affects your body negatively.

Our body is designed in such a manner that every time we breathe, air enters from our mouth and nose before passing through a series of airways. These airways are known as bronchial tubes, and it is their purpose to carry the air straight into the lungs. However, when these passageways get inflamed, it becomes difficult for the air to enter the lungs. This can happen due to different reasons, including smoking, pollution and regular interaction with harmful chemicals.

Once a person gets affected by this condition, he or she tends to experience shortening in breath along with a recurrent cough. The sufferer might also experience tightness in the chest, and some people also complain about a low-degree fever. This condition is known as bronchitis, and when it happens due to asthma, it is called as asthmatic bronchitis.

ICD 10 Code for Asthmatic Bronchitis: A Closer Look

In the case of bronchitis, it comes with a series of different ICD-10 codes. This is due to the reason that there are different types of this disease including acute, chronic, and asthmatic bronchitis. Thus, it is not feasible to specify all of them with a single code. With that said, even though there are various other codes as well for bronchitis and asthma, all of them exclude asthmatic bronchitis from their set of causes. Hence, we will only focus on the ones that categorize the said condition.

• J45.909

If a person is suffering from an uncomplicated form of asthmatic bronchitis, he or she is provided with J45.909 ICD 10 code. The typical symptoms of this problem include allergic asthma, general asthma, and asthma with hay fever.

• J45.901

Patients who are diagnosed with an acute form of asthmatic bronchitis are provided with the J45.901 code. Its symptoms are a bit similar to that of the condition mentioned above. However, the treatment plan is different. So, thanks to a separate code, it makes it easier for your doctor to handle your disease effectively.

The J45.901 code is further categorized into two different types known as 202 and 203. While the former code is used to define asthmatic bronchitis with major complications, the latter means that the patient does not have such problems.

Summary

The ICD 10 codes of asthmatic bronchitis have a positive impact on the healthcare industry as doctors can make a well-informed decision about the condition which eventually results in better management of the illness. It also keeps a well-concise data about the patients suffering from acute bronchitis, so researchers can easily study the patterns of this disease. Patients can also enjoy the benefits of their insurance plans without too many hassles.