T88.9 — Complication of surgical and medical care, unspecified
T88.9 is a non-billable header ICD-10-CM code for complication of surgical and medical care, unspecified. It cannot be billed on its own: choose one of the more specific child codes below. This code also requires a 7th character before it is complete.
This code requires a 7th character
The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category T88
- A
- initial encounter
- D
- subsequent encounter
- S
- sequela
Risk adjustment
T88.9 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 T88.9 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 T88.9.
- Misadventure(of) (prophylactic) (therapeutic)
- Complication›electroshock therapy
- Complication›medical procedures
- Complication›phototherapy
- Complication›ultrasound therapy NEC
- Effect, adverse›medical care
- Misadventure›local applications(of fomentations, plasters, etc.)
- Misadventure›medical care(early) (late)
Code to one of these instead T88.9
3 child codes. Green means billable.
Related codes at this level
Codes that share T88. If T88.9 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.
- T88.0Infection following immunization
- T88.1Other complications following immunization, not elsewhere classified
- T88.2Shock due to anesthesia
- T88.3Malignant hyperthermia due to anesthesia
- T88.4Failed or difficult intubation
- T88.5Other complications of anesthesia
- T88.6Anaphylactic reaction due to adverse effect of correct drug or medicament properly administered
- T88.7Unspecified adverse effect of drug or medicament
- T88.8Other specified complications of surgical and medical care, not elsewhere classified
Questions about T88.9
- Is T88.9 a billable ICD-10-CM code?
- No. T88.9 is a non-billable header code. Code to a higher level of specificity using one of its child codes.
- Where does T88.9 sit in the tabular list?
- Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88), in the block Complications of surgical and medical care, not elsewhere classified (T80-T88).