Is R89.5 a billable ICD-10-CM code?

Yes. R89.5 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.

Where does R89.5 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 R89.5?

R89.5 carries an Excludes1 note, which means the conditions it lists can never be coded together with it on the same encounter.

R89.5

R89.5 — Abnormal microbiological findings in specimens from other organs, systems and tissues

Billable / specific codeICD-10-CM

R89.5 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for abnormal microbiological findings in specimens from other organs, systems and tissues. It is valid for submission on a claim.

Excludes1 — never code together

These conditions cannot occur together. Billing both on the same encounter is a denial.

colonization status (Z22.-)

Inclusion terms

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

Positive culture findings in specimens from other organs, systems and tissues

Risk adjustment

R89.5 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 R89.5 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 R89.5.

Positive›culture›nipple discharge
Positive›culture›synovial fluid
Positive›culture›wound secretions
Abnormal, abnormality, abnormalities›specimen›specified organ, system and tissue NOS›microbiology

Related codes at this level

Codes that share R89. If R89.5 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.

Questions about R89.5

Is R89.5 a billable ICD-10-CM code?: Yes. R89.5 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
Where does R89.5 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 R89.5?: R89.5 carries an Excludes1 note, which means the conditions it lists can never be coded together with it on the same encounter.