Running a speech therapy clinic is both art and science. You must put patients at ease, motivate them to participate actively in their treatment, and ensure that staff are empowered to provide a positive patient experience. At the same time, you must stay at the top of your profession and ensure your business is profitable so you can continue to serve patients effectively. This balance isn’t easy, especially since accurate medical billing is part of running a profitable practice. You need to ensure your claims are accepted in a timely manner in order to keep cash flow where it should be.
Essential to increasing your claim acceptance rate is understanding ICD-10 codes for speech therapy. In this post, we look at what you need to know about ICD-10 codes and the codes you’ll use most often in your speech therapy practice.
What are ICD-10 Diagnosis Codes?
ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision) is a set of codes published by the World Health Organization (WHO) that are used to represent medical diagnoses. An ICD-10 code is assigned to every disease, infection, injury, disorder, and symptom. These codes are used for a variety of purposes, from tracking epidemics across the world to medical billing. (Note that WHO recently released ICD-11, but it won’t go into effect until 2022.)
Most Common ICD-10 Diagnosis Codes for Speech Therapy
Due to the nature of ICD-10 codes, there are thousands of diagnosis codes — over 69,000. While it’s important for your medical biller to have a thorough knowledge of the codes that apply to speech therapy, you’ll want to become familiar with the most commonly-used codes. Here are ten codes most frequently used by speech therapists, including their descriptions.
1. F80.0 — Phonological disorder
Code F80.0 describes phonological disorder. Patients with this disorder have a problem making the correct sounds for a letter or a word. Examples include:
- Leaving out a sound (saying “pay” instead of “play”)
- Swapping one sound for another (saying “fog” instead of “dog”)
- Adding a sound (saying “place” instead of “pace”)
Phonological disorder is diagnosed by reviewing symptoms and medical history and ruling out vision and hearing issues through testing.
2. F80.2 — Mixed receptive-expressive language disorder
Mixed Receptive-Expressive Language Disorder, described by code F80.2, is displayed when a patient has difficulty in expressing their feelings and thoughts and understanding what others are saying. Young children are typically most affected, though it can impact adults as a result of a stroke, seizures, or a traumatic brain injury. Symptoms may vary between patients and include:
- Limited vocabulary
- Inability to communicate wants, needs, or thoughts
- Confusion with spatial terms and abstract nouns
- Ability to pronounce words clearly, but inability to use words appropriately in a sentence or use the correct tense or grammar
- Inability to understand what is being said
- Repeating a few key phrases or terms without varying from them
3. F80.81 — Childhood onset fluency disorder
Code F80.81 represents childhood onset fluency disorder, which is characterized by the patient cluttering and stuttering. Symptoms include but are not limited to:
- Repetition of syllables or sounds
- Pausing in the middle of a word
- Prolonged pauses during speech
- Vocalizing consonants and vowels in a prolonged manner
- Broken words (e.g., pauses within a word)
- Substituting words to avoid problematic words
- Physical tension when pronouncing words (which as clenching fists)
4. R13.11 — Dysphagia, oral phase
Code R13.11 describes difficulty swallowing. Dysphagia is when a patient’s food or liquids take more time and effort to move from their mouth to their stomach. Swallowing may be associated with pain or may not be possible. Dysphagia is more common in older adults. Symptoms include:
- Drooling
- Regurgitation
- Odynophagia (pain while swallowing)
- Frequent heartburn and/or having stomach acid or food backing up into the throat
- Hoarseness
- Inability to swallow
- Unexpected weight loss
- Gagging or coughing while swallowing
- The sensation of food getting caught in the throat or chest
Note that this code should not be used as a primary diagnosis when a related definitive diagnosis was established.
5. R13.12 — Dysphagia, oropharyngeal phase
Oropharyngeal dysphagia is when a patient has trouble swallowing and the issue involves the patient’s mouth and pharynx (the part of the throat behind the mouth). Symptoms are generally similar to those for the oral phase of dysphagia and include:
- Coughing, choking, and drooling
- Regurgitation
- Reporting the feeling that food is stuck in the throat
- Issues with starting to swallow to move food and liquid from the mouth to the back of the throat (liquid may be harder than food)
- Problems getting enough nutrition or fluids
You may see the following causes of oropharyngeal dysphagia in the patient’s records:
- Zenker’s diverticulum, or pharyngoesophageal diverticulum, where a small pouch forms and collects food particles in the throat
- Neurological damage from a stroke, or brain or spinal cord injury
- Neurological disorders like muscular dystrophy, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis
- Cancer including certain cancers centered in the mouth or throat and cancer treatments like radiation
6. R48.8 — Other symbolic dysfunctions
Code R48.8 is used to capture language deficits as the first-listed diagnosis. It should only be used if an Audiologist has assigned the H93.25 code (Central auditory processing disorder (CAPD)) to a patient. If a diagnosis of CAPD has not been established by an Audiologist, use code F80.2 (mixed receptive-expressive language disorder, developmental) for an auditory processing deficit.
7. R47.1 — Dysarthria and anarthria
Dysarthria, described by code R47.1, is a speech deficit caused by issues with controlling the muscles involved with speech production. Anarthria is the most severe form, which results in the inability to produce articulate and clear speech. Vowel sounds, in particular, may be distorted. Symptoms include slurred speech and:
- Limited movement of the lip, jaw, and tongue
- Abnormal vocal pitch
- Slowed rate of speech
- Abnormal rhythm to speech
- Nasal or congested-sounding speech
- Inability to speak loudly
- Hoarseness or breathiness quality to speech
- Mumbling
8. R48.2 — Apraxia
Apraxia of speech, identified by code R48.2, is a neurological condition where the patient finds it difficult or impossible to move their mouth and tongue to speak. It should not be confused with aphasia, where the person’s inability to speak is due to a problem with understanding or using the words. Instead, apraxia describes difficulty initiating and performing the movements needed to speak, despite no weakness in the required muscles. Common symptoms include:
- Difficulty saying complex or long words
- Speech inconsistencies (where the patient can say a word or make a sound at some times but not others)
- Repetitive attempts at pronunciation
- Stringing syllables together in the correct order to make words is difficult or impossible
- Seeming to have challenges with making words
- Distorting of vowel sounds
- Incorrect stressing certain sounds or words or incorrect inflections
- Excessive use of nonverbal forms of communication
- Leaving off consonants at the beginnings and ends of words
9. R63.3 — Feeding difficulties
Code R63.3 is used for a diagnosis of feeding difficulties and may be used for difficulty clearing the mouth of residue, difficulty establishing feeding, dependency for feeding, chewing finding, and difficulty chewing. This code can be used for developmental delays and sensory food aversions. It excludes feeding problems for newborns and eating disorders.
10. F80.4 — Speech and language development delay due to hearing loss
Code F80.4 is used for a developmental delay caused by hearing loss in children. Common symptoms include:
- Delays in vocabulary development, including a delay with abstract words and function words like “the” or “a”
- Challenge in understanding words with multiple meanings
- Tendency to use shorter and simpler sentences
- Speech that is difficult to understand
- Speaking too loudly or quietly or mumbling
- Difficulty with academic achievement, particularly mathematics and reading
- Falling behind in school by one to four grades on average for children
- Appearing to isolate themselves, especially in social situations
While there are certainly more ICD-10 codes that you’ll use in your speech therapy practice, knowing the ten we’ve described here is a good start. Most speech therapists tend to encounter patients with these diagnoses frequently.
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FAQs
What is ICD-10 code for speech impairment? ›
ICD-10 code F80. 9 for Developmental disorder of speech and language, unspecified is a medical classification as listed by WHO under the range - Mental, Behavioral and Neurodevelopmental disorders .
What is the ICD-10 code R48 8? ›For a child with language deficits related to an organic or medical condition, code R48. 8 (other symbolic dysfunctions) is often used by SLPs to describe the deficit. When there is an underlying medical condition contributing to the speech or language deficit, this information should also be included on the claim.
What is the ICD-10 code for rapid speech? ›R47. 89 is a billable/specific ICD-10-CM code that can be used to indicate a diagnosis for reimbursement purposes.
What is the ICD code for speech delay? ›ICD-10 code: F80. 9 Developmental disorder of speech and language, unspecified.
What is the code for speech therapy? ›CPT Code 92507: Auditory Processing Disorders
This code includes treatment of speech, language, voice, communication, and/or auditory processing disorders. The individual patient undergoes developmental programs under the direction of a physician. These include: Speech therapy.
- Fluency disorder. This type can be described as an unusual repetition of sounds or rhythm.
- Voice disorder. A voice disorder means you have an atypical tone of voice. ...
- Articulation disorder. If you have an articulation disorder, you might distort certain sounds.
ICD-10 code G44. 89 for Other headache syndrome is a medical classification as listed by WHO under the range - Diseases of the nervous system .
What does diagnosis code M47 812 mean? ›Spondylosis without myelopathy or radiculopathy, cervical region (M47.812)
What is the code Z76 89 for? ›ICD-10 code Z76. 89 for Persons encountering health services in other specified circumstances is a medical classification as listed by WHO under the range - Factors influencing health status and contact with health services .
What are the 5 common speech disorders? ›- Stuttering. This condition might indicate developmental delay, an inherited condition or a sign your child's brain isn't coordinating the functions that drive speech.
- Articulation errors. ...
- Tongue-tie (ankyloglossia). ...
- Apraxia. ...
- Dysarthria. ...
- Selective mutism.
What is diagnosis Z71 9? ›
ICD-10 code Z71. 9 for Counseling, unspecified is a medical classification as listed by WHO under the range - Factors influencing health status and contact with health services .
What is code Z71 7? ›An additional counseling code, Z71. 7, Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) counseling may be used if counseling is provided during the encounter for the test.
Is 92526 a speech therapy code? ›Speech language pathologists may perform services coded as CPT codes 92507, 92508, or 92526.
What is the diagnosis code f80 1? ›1: Expressive language disorder.
Is Z71 2 a primary diagnosis? ›Z71.2 as principal diagnosis
According to the tabular index, a symbol next to the code indicates that it is an unacceptable principal diagnosis per Medicare code edits. This applies for outpatient and inpatient care.
ICD-10 code R47. 9 for Unspecified speech disturbances is a medical classification as listed by WHO under the range - Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified .
What is F80 2 diagnosis code? ›2: Receptive language disorder.
When should I use F80 89? ›ICD-10 code F80. 89 for Other developmental disorders of speech and language is a medical classification as listed by WHO under the range - Mental, Behavioral and Neurodevelopmental disorders .
What are the four major speech disorders? ›Types of speech disorder include stuttering, apraxia, and dysarthria. There are many possible causes of speech disorders, including muscles weakness, brain injuries, degenerative diseases, autism, and hearing loss. Speech disorders can affect a person's self-esteem and their overall quality of life.
What is the most common disorder of speech? ›One of the most commonly experienced speech disorders is stuttering. Other speech disorders include apraxia and dysarthria. Apraxia is a motor speech disorder caused by damage to the parts of the brain related to speaking.
What are the two most common speech sound disorders? ›
But some children have speech sound disorders. This means they have trouble saying certain sounds and words past the expected age. This can make it hard to understand what a child is trying to say. Speech sound problems include articulation disorder and phonological process disorder.
What is F43 22 diagnosis code? ›309.24 (F43. 22) With anxiety: Nervousness, worry, jitteriness, or separation anxiety is predominant. 309.28 (F43. 23) With mixed anxiety and depressed mood: A combination of depression and anxiety is predominant.
What is diagnosis code M19 072? ›M19. 072 Primary osteoarthritis, left ankle and foot.
What does Z79 899 mean? ›For many coders, that code is Z79. 899, Other long term (current) drug therapy. It is the catchall code when the patient is or has taken a medication on a long-term basis. Coding Clinic for ICD-10-CM/PCS recommends using this code to capture the use of injectable diabetic drugs, Flonase, or immunosuppressants.
What is diagnosis code Z31 49? ›ICD-10 code Z31. 49 for Encounter for other procreative investigation and testing is a medical classification as listed by WHO under the range - Factors influencing health status and contact with health services .
What does diagnosis code F31 9 mean? ›ICD-10 code: F31. 9 Bipolar affective disorder, unspecified.
What is diagnosis code b95 61? ›61 for Methicillin susceptible Staphylococcus aureus infection as the cause of diseases classified elsewhere is a medical classification as listed by WHO under the range - Certain infectious and parasitic diseases .
What does r41 89 mean? ›89 for Other symptoms and signs involving cognitive functions and awareness is a medical classification as listed by WHO under the range - Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified .
Is Z71 89 a billable code? ›Z71. 89 is a billable/specific ICD-10-CM code that can be used to indicate a diagnosis for reimbursement purposes. The 2023 edition of ICD-10-CM Z71. 89 became effective on October 1, 2022.
What does code 99304 mean? ›Code. Description. 99304. INITIAL NURSING FACILITY CARE, PER DAY, FOR THE EVALUATION AND MANAGEMENT OF A PATIENT, WHICH REQUIRES THESE 3 KEY COMPONENTS: A DETAILED OR COMPREHENSIVE HISTORY; A DETAILED OR COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION; AND MEDICAL DECISION MAKING THAT IS STRAIGHTFORWARD OR OF LOW COMPLEXITY.
What are the 4 articulation errors? ›
A child can make the following articulation errors when producing speech sounds: Substitutions, Omissions, Distortions, and/or Additions.
What are the most common speech disorders in children? ›- Stuttering. Stuttering is a speech disorder characterized by the repetition of certain consonants when speaking. ...
- Apraxia of Speech. Unlike stuttering, Apraxia is always neurological. ...
- Articulation Disorder. ...
- Dysarthria.
Having problems sharing our thoughts, ideas, and feelings is an expressive language disorder. It is possible to have both a receptive and an expressive language problem. When we have trouble saying sounds, stutter when we speak, or have voice problems, we have a speech disorder.
What is code Z71 82? ›82 (Exercise Counseling) Added to NCTracks.
What is code Z71 85? ›Code Z71. 85, Encounter for immunization safety counseling, is to be used for counseling of the patient or caregiver regarding the safety of a vaccine.
What does diagnosis code Z01 818 mean? ›818, “Encounter for other preprocedural examination.” Most pre-op exams will be coded with Z01. 818. The ICD-10 instructions say to use the preprocedural diagnosis code first, and then the reason for the surgery and any additional findings.
What is Z51 12 code? ›If infusion for antineoplastic immunotherapy is the only reason for the patient encounter, physicians and hospitals may report ICD-10-CM code “Z51. 12 Encounter for antineoplastic immunotherapy” as the primary diagnosis.
What is diagnosis code F17 21? ›ICD-10 code F17. 21 for Nicotine dependence, cigarettes is a medical classification as listed by WHO under the range - Mental, Behavioral and Neurodevelopmental disorders .
When do you code B20 and Z21? ›According to ICD-10, B20 is used when the patient has confirmed AIDS. Following ICD-10 guidelines, if a patient has or has had an HIV related condition, use B20 AIDS. If the patient has a positive HIV status, without symptoms or related conditions, use Z21.
What is Mbss in speech therapy? ›A Modified Barium Swallow Study (MBSS) is a special x-ray that allows the Radiologist (who specializes in using x-rays) and Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) to identify why you are having trouble swallowing.
When do you use 92524? ›
Code 92524 is used for the behavioral evaluation of voice and resonance. Use this code if you didn't perform any instrumental assessment during your evaluation. If you performed an acoustic or aerodynamic assessment, you need to use CPT ® code 92520 to bill for those procedures.
What does Mbss stand for in speech therapy? ›An MBSS stands for “modified barium swallow study”. This test can also be called a VFSS, which stands for “videofluoroscopic swallow study”.
What is F40 11 diagnosis? ›10 for Social Anxiety Disorder which maps to “Social Phobia, Unspecified” in the ICD-10-CM. Social phobia, generalized is coded as F40. 11, which may be a more appropriate diagnostic code for different presentations.
What is l40 9 diagnosis? ›9: Psoriasis, unspecified.
What is the diagnosis for f60 9? ›9: Personality disorder, unspecified.
Can Z51 5 be used as a principal diagnosis? ›Code Z51. 5 can be used in multiple care settings where it may be the first-listed diagnosis, but is typically not the principal diagnosis in the inpatient hospital setting. In many cases, it would be more appropriate as a secondary diagnosis, because it is not normally the reason for a hospital inpatient admission.
Can Z51 11 be a primary diagnosis? ›0, Encounter for antineoplastic radiation therapy, or Z51. 11, Encounter for antineoplastic chemotherapy, or Z51. 12, Encounter for antineoplastic immunotherapy as the first-listed or principal diagnosis.
What is R53 83 diagnosis? ›Code R53. 83 is the diagnosis code used for Other Fatigue. It is a condition marked by drowsiness and an unusual lack of energy and mental alertness.
What is diagnosis code Z31 84? ›ICD-10 code Z31. 84 for Encounter for fertility preservation procedure is a medical classification as listed by WHO under the range - Factors influencing health status and contact with health services .
What is the medical term for impaired speech? ›dysarthria – difficulty speaking caused by brain damage, which results in an inability to control the muscles used in speech.
What are the two common speech impairments? ›
Some common speech impediments are: Stuttering. This condition might indicate developmental delay, an inherited condition or a sign your child's brain isn't coordinating the functions that drive speech. Articulation errors.
What is diagnosis code N32 81? ›ICD-10 code N32. 81 for Overactive bladder is a medical classification as listed by WHO under the range - Diseases of the genitourinary system .
What is code Z71 89? ›ICD-10 code Z71. 89 for Other specified counseling is a medical classification as listed by WHO under the range - Factors influencing health status and contact with health services .
What is diagnosis code F31 89? ›ICD-10 code F31. 89 for Other bipolar disorder is a medical classification as listed by WHO under the range - Mental, Behavioral and Neurodevelopmental disorders .
What are the 4 types of articulation disorders? ›- Organic speech sound disorder. ...
- Functional speech disorder. ...
- Developmental phonological disorder. ...
- Developmental apraxia of speech. ...
- Developmental dysarthria.
- Mixed receptive-expressive language disorder. A child has developmental delays and problems understanding spoken language and speaking.
- Expressive language disorder. A child has developmental delays and problems speaking.
- Speech-sound disorders. ...
- Childhood-onset fluency disorder. ...
- Social communication disorder.
One of the most commonly experienced speech disorders is stuttering. Other speech disorders include apraxia and dysarthria.
What is F43 23 code? ›F43. 23 Adjustment Disorder with Mixed Anxiety & Depressed Mood: A combination of depression and anxiety is predominant.
What is diagnosis code H61 23? ›ICD-10 code H61. 23 for Impacted cerumen, bilateral is a medical classification as listed by WHO under the range - Diseases of the ear and mastoid process .