Is R87.615 a billable ICD-10-CM code?

Yes. R87.615 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.

Where does R87.615 sit in the tabular list?

Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R99), in the block Abnormal findings on examination of other body fluids, substances and tissues, without diagnosis (R83-R89).

What cannot be coded together with R87.615?

R87.615 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 R87.615 (R87.61) and apply to it just the same.

R87.615

R87.615 — Unsatisfactory cytologic smear of cervix

Billable / specific codeICD-10-CM

R87.615 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for unsatisfactory cytologic smear of cervix. It is valid for submission on a claim.

Inclusion terms

Alternative wordings a physician may use in the chart for this same code.

Inadequate sample of cytologic smear of cervix

Excludes1 inherited from the categories above R87.615

These are not written on R87.615, but they bind it: a note on a category applies to every code beneath it. Billing R87.615 with anything listed here is a denial.

Written on R87.61 — Abnormal cytological findings in specimens from cervix uteri

abnormal cytological findings in specimens from other female genital organs (R87.69)
abnormal cytological findings in specimens from vagina (R87.62-)
carcinoma in situ of cervix uteri (histologically confirmed) (D06.-)
cervical intraepithelial neoplasia I [CIN I] (N87.0)
cervical intraepithelial neoplasia II [CIN II] (N87.1)
cervical intraepithelial neoplasia III [CIN III] (D06.-)
dysplasia (mild) (moderate) of cervix uteri (histologically confirmed) (N87.-)
severe dysplasia of cervix uteri (histologically confirmed) (D06.-)

Excludes2 inherited from the categories above R87.615

Also inherited, and the opposite of Excludes1: these conditions are not part of R87.615, but a patient can have both, so you may code both.

Written on R87.61 — Abnormal cytological findings in specimens from cervix uteri

cervical high risk human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA test positive (R87.810)
cervical low risk human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA test positive (R87.820)

Risk adjustment

R87.615 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.

How R87.615 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 R87.615.

Inadequate, inadequacy›sample of cytologic smear›cervix
Unsatisfactory›sample of cytologic smear›cervix
Abnormal, abnormality, abnormalities›Papanicolaou›cervix›inadequate smear
Abnormal, abnormality, abnormalities›Papanicolaou›cervix›unsatisfactory smear
Abnormal, abnormality, abnormalities›specimen›female genital organs›cytology›cervix›inadequate smear(unsatisfactory)

Code history

R87.615 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 R87.61. If R87.615 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.

Questions about R87.615

Is R87.615 a billable ICD-10-CM code?: Yes. R87.615 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
Where does R87.615 sit in the tabular list?: Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R99), in the block Abnormal findings on examination of other body fluids, substances and tissues, without diagnosis (R83-R89).
What cannot be coded together with R87.615?: R87.615 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 R87.615 (R87.61) and apply to it just the same.