Is R15.0 a billable ICD-10-CM code?

Yes. R15.0 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.

Where does R15.0 sit in the tabular list?

Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R99), in the block Symptoms and signs involving the digestive system and abdomen (R10-R19).

What cannot be coded together with R15.0?

R15.0 carries Excludes1 notes, which means the conditions they list can never be coded together with it on the same encounter. Some are written on the categories above R15.0 (R15) and apply to it just the same.

R15.0

R15.0 — Incomplete defecation

Billable / specific codeICD-10-CM

R15.0 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for incomplete defecation. It is valid for submission on a claim.

Excludes2 — not included here, but may coexist

The excluded condition is not part of this code, but a patient can have both. You may code both.

constipation (K59.0-)
fecal impaction (K56.41)

Excludes1 inherited from the categories above R15.0

These are not written on R15.0, but they bind it: a note on a category applies to every code beneath it. Billing R15.0 with anything listed here is a denial.

Written on R15 — Fecal incontinence

fecal incontinence of nonorganic origin (F98.1)

Other codes that can never be billed with R15.0

These codes carry an Excludes1 note pointing at R15.0. The conflict binds both ways, but ICD-10-CM only writes it down on one side — so you would not find this by reading R15.0 alone.

F98.1Encopresis not due to a substance or known physiological condition

Risk adjustment

R15.0 does not map to an HCC and does not risk-adjust under CMS-HCC V28. That is normal — most ICD-10 codes do not. It still needs to be coded correctly; it just will not move a RAF score.

Medicare coverage

R15.0 is named in 15 Medicare coverage policies — 14 listing it as supporting medical necessity, and 1 listing it as NOT covered. Which of them applies to you depends on your Medicare contractor, and coverage genuinely differs by state.

A57067Billing and Coding: Outpatient Physical and Occupational Therapy Servicesnot covered
A53058Billing and Coding: Home Health Physical Therapy
A54095Billing and Coding: Nerve Conduction Studies and Electromyography
A54969Billing and Coding: Nerve Conduction Studies and Electromyography

How R15.0 is indexed

Coders do not find codes by browsing the tabular list — they look them up in the alphabetic index, under the word the physician wrote. These are the index entries that lead here, so you can see which chart wordings map to R15.0.

Incomplete›defecation

Code history

R15.0 has not changed since FY2024 — no addition, revision or deletion across the three most recent ICD-10-CM releases.

Related codes at this level

Codes that share R15. If R15.0 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.

Questions about R15.0

Is R15.0 a billable ICD-10-CM code?: Yes. R15.0 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
Where does R15.0 sit in the tabular list?: Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R99), in the block Symptoms and signs involving the digestive system and abdomen (R10-R19).
What cannot be coded together with R15.0?: R15.0 carries Excludes1 notes, which means the conditions they list can never be coded together with it on the same encounter. Some are written on the categories above R15.0 (R15) and apply to it just the same.