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Encounter with Some Weird Medical Codes -Avontix


It’s a strange thing that a big medical process or procedure is given a small code. According to the World Health Organization’s guidelines, all the medical conditions have to be categorized and given codes that are useful in the process of medical billing and also play a crucial role in understanding and analyzing the various health ailments, treatments and how these can be used to better the healthcare services. The process of representing the various medical conditions in alphanumeric codes is called medical coding and the people who are in the medical coding jobs are medical coders.

There are thousands of medical codes that are used to represent all kinds of diagnoses, conditions and treatments. The ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases) is a set of codes given by the WHO that are used by physicians and different healthcare providers. Among these thousands of codes, there are some codes that are a bit weird and crazy. Such codes are very rarely or in some instances not at all used. Let’s see some of those codes that are weird but may have to be used in the medical coding jobs.
  • W2203: This code is related to “walked into furniture”. This may seem a little crazy that why would people walk into furniture, but the way people are glued to gadgets and smartphones makes us believe that this could indeed be a reason for an injury. This medical coding professionals need to know these: W22.03XA (Walked into furniture, initial encounter); W22.03XD (Walked into furniture, subsequent encounter), W22.03XS (Walked into furniture, sequela).
  • W6101: This code relates to "bitten by parrot” and the circumstances causing injury and not the nature of the injury. Per the ICD-10 CM 2018 version, this code is non-billable and non-specific code which should not be used for claiming reimbursement. The related codes for this are: W61.01XA (Bitten by parrot, initial encounter); W61.01XD (Bitten by parrot, subsequent encounter); W61.01XS (Bitten by parrot, sequela).
  • W503 :This code relates to “accidental bite by another person” and is a bit weirder too. 


An animal or bird bite is understood, but an accidental bite by another person is a bit very uncommon and strange. But, amazingly, there were more than 10000 cases where the insurance claims cited the reason of “accidental bite by another person”, according to a study in the USA. The related codes for this are: W50.3XXA (accidental bite by another person, initial encounter); W50.3XXD (accidental bite by another person, subsequent encounter); W50.3XXD (accidental bite by another person, sequela).

Though such codes are not very frequently encountered, medical coders should have knowledge of these codes as well. You never know, with what health condition a patient visits a physician. The only way to sharpen your coding skills is to join the best company that gives ample scope to learn and grow in your field. Avontix is one such company that is the best medical coding company in Hyderabad.

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