Guidelines › Injuries: application of 7th characters
Injuries: application of 7th characters
Official text from the FY2027 ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting. The wording is quoted exactly.
Guidelines I.C.19.a
“assignment of the 7th character is based on whether the patient is undergoing active treatment and not whether the provider is seeing the patient for the first time.”
“7th character "D" subsequent encounter is used for encounters after the patient has completed active treatment of the condition and is receiving routine care for the condition during the healing or recovery phase.”
“The aftercare Z codes should not be used for aftercare for conditions such as injuries or poisonings, where 7th characters are provided to identify subsequent care. For example, for aftercare of an injury, assign the acute injury code with the 7th character "D" (subsequent encounter).”