W45 — Foreign body or object entering through skin
W45 is a non-billable header ICD-10-CM code for foreign body or object entering through skin. 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 W45
- A
- initial encounter
- D
- subsequent encounter
- S
- sequela
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.
Includes
Conditions this code covers.
- foreign body or object embedded in skin
- nail embedded in skin
Risk adjustment
W45 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 W45 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 W45.
- Foreign body›embedded in skin
Code to one of these instead W45
3 child codes. Green means billable.
Questions about W45
- Is W45 a billable ICD-10-CM code?
- No. W45 is a non-billable header code. Code to a higher level of specificity using one of its child codes.
- Where does W45 sit in the tabular list?
- External causes of morbidity (V00-Y99), in the block Exposure to inanimate mechanical forces (W20-W49).