What is the ICD-10 code for anemia, unspecified?

D64.9. Use it only when the provider documents anemia with no type or cause; iron deficiency is D50.9, acute blood loss is D62, and anemia in CKD is D63.1 after the N18.- stage.

What is the ICD-10 code for anemia due to chemotherapy?

D64.81, antineoplastic chemotherapy induced anemia, with T45.1X5- for the adverse effect and the code for the neoplasm. When the encounter is only for the anemia, D64.81 is sequenced first.

Can I code anemia from a low hemoglobin result?

No. A lab value is not a diagnosis. The provider must document anemia; until then, an abnormal result is at most R71.0 or a query.

Anemia ICD-10 code

Q: What is the ICD-10 code for anemia?

The ICD-10-CM code for anemia is D64.9: Anemia, unspecified. It is billable and valid for submission on a claim. There are 16 related codes; which one applies depends on what the documentation supports.

The ICD-10-CM code for anemia is D64.9 (anemia, unspecified). It is billable and valid for submission on a claim. There are 16 related codes, and which one you use depends on what the documentation supports.

The mistake coders make here

D64.9 is unspecified anemia and should be a last resort. Anemia in chronic kidney disease is D63.1 and requires the CKD to be coded first; acute blood-loss anemia is D62.

Putting anemia on a claim? Check the claim’s diagnosis codes free: Excludes1 conflicts, header codes and missing seventh characters, before it goes out.

ICD-10-CM codes for anemia

13 of 16 are billable. Green means you can submit it as-is.

Code	Use it when
D64.9	Anemia, unspecified
D50.9	Iron deficiency anemia, unspecified
D63.1	Anemia in chronic kidney disease
D62	Acute posthemorrhagic anemia
D64	Other anemiasnot billable on its own
D64.8	Other specified anemiasnot billable on its own
D64.1	Secondary sideroblastic anemia due to disease
D64.4	Congenital dyserythropoietic anemia
D64.89	Other specified anemias
D64.2	Secondary sideroblastic anemia due to drugs and toxins
D64.81	Anemia due to antineoplastic chemotherapy
D64.0	Hereditary sideroblastic anemia
D64.3	Other sideroblastic anemias
D53.2	Scorbutic anemia
P61.2	Anemia of prematurity
D53	Other nutritional anemiasnot billable on its own

Once you have the code

Check the whole claim: Excludes1 conflicts and missing seventh characters, free
Denial codes explained: what CO-16, CO-97 and the rest actually mean
Decision guides: walk a chart note to a code, guideline cited
Everything here that is free, and the one thing no free tool includes

D64.9 is where the chart is silent; the cause is usually in it

D64.9, anemia unspecified, is the code for 'anemia' with no type and no cause. Most charts say more. Iron deficiency is D50.- (D50.9 unspecified, D50.0 due to chronic blood loss); vitamin B12 deficiency is D51.- (D51.0 pernicious anemia); folate deficiency is D52.-; acute blood loss is D62; anemia of chronic disease is D63.8 with the disease coded first; hemolytic anemias are D55 to D59; sickle-cell disease is D57.-; aplastic anemia is D61.-. Pancytopenia is D61.81-, and chemotherapy-induced pancytopenia specifically is D61.810.

Anemia in CKD and in cancer: the sequencing rules

Anemia in chronic kidney disease is D63.1, with the N18.- stage coded first as the tabular instructs. Anemia in neoplastic disease is D63.0, and Guideline I.C.2.c.1 sequences the malignancy first when the admission is for managing the anemia caused by the cancer. Anemia caused by chemotherapy is different: D64.81, antineoplastic chemotherapy induced anemia, with T45.1X5- for the adverse effect and the neoplasm code, and per I.C.2.c.2, when the encounter is for the anemia alone, D64.81 is sequenced first. Radiotherapy-induced anemia is D64.89 with the Y84.2 external cause.

Lab values are not diagnoses

A low hemoglobin in the results is R71.0 (precipitous drop in hematocrit) or nothing at all until the provider diagnoses anemia; a coder does not assign D64.9 from the CBC. The same rule catches the post-operative case: a hemoglobin drop after surgery is coded as D62 only when the provider documents acute blood loss anemia, and 'expected' operative loss documented as such is not a complication. Anemia in pregnancy is O99.01- first with the D-code second.

Common questions

What is the ICD-10 code for anemia, unspecified?: D64.9. Use it only when the provider documents anemia with no type or cause; iron deficiency is D50.9, acute blood loss is D62, and anemia in CKD is D63.1 after the N18.- stage.
What is the ICD-10 code for anemia due to chemotherapy?: D64.81, antineoplastic chemotherapy induced anemia, with T45.1X5- for the adverse effect and the code for the neoplasm. When the encounter is only for the anemia, D64.81 is sequenced first.
Can I code anemia from a low hemoglobin result?: No. A lab value is not a diagnosis. The provider must document anemia; until then, an abnormal result is at most R71.0 or a query.