Asthma is a chronic lung disease involving inflamed airways. Specialists diagnose and treat asthma, relying on medical coding outsourcing to handle complex coding tasks. Proper documentation of asthma includes noting its cause, severity, and temporal factors. ICD-10 codes classify asthma as mild, moderate, or severe and indicate if it is uncomplicated, experiencing acute exacerbation, or status asthmaticus. Exceptions to asthma diagnosis codes also exist. Coders must understand asthma coding structure and organization in ICD-10.

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2. According to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma &
Immunology (AAAAI), asthma is a chronic disease involving the
airways in the lungs. Airways are always inflamed for those with this
condition. Specialists such as allergists or immunologists diagnosing
and treating asthma can rely on medical coding outsourcing to meet
the complex coding tasks.

3. Conditions to be included while documenting asthma
Cause (exercise-induced, cough
variant, related to smoking, chemical
or particular cause, occupational)
Severity (mild persistent, moderate
persistent, severe persistent)
Temporal Factors (acute, chronic,
intermittent, persistent, status asthmaticus,
acute exacerbation)

4. Get Familiar with ICD 10 codes
ICD-10-CM combines both intrinsic and extrinsic into one category
Mild
asthma
Moderate and
severe asthma
Condition that cannot
be identified as mild,
moderate or severe
J45.2 Mild intermittent asthma
J45.3 Mild persistent asthma
J45.4 Moderate persistent asthma
J45.5 Severe persistent asthma
J45.99 Other asthma Or
J45.90 Unspecified asthma

5. Sub-categories
Three further sub-categories are - uncomplicated, with acute
exacerbation and status asthmaticus.
Uncomplicated
J45.20 Mild intermittent asthma, uncomplicated
J45.50 Severe persistent asthma, uncomplicated
Unspecified asthma, uncomplicatedJ45.909

6. Acute
Exacerbation
J45.21
Mild intermittent asthma with (acute)
exacerbation
Mild persistent asthma with (acute)
exacerbation
J45.31
J45.41
Moderate persistent asthma with (acute)
exacerbation
J45.51
Severe persistent asthma with (acute)
exacerbation
J45.901 Unspecified asthma with (acute) exacerbation

7. Status
Asthmaticus
J45.22
J45.32
J45.42
J45.52
J45.902
Mild intermittent asthma with status
asthmaticus
Mild persistent asthma with status
asthmaticus
Mild persistent asthma with status
asthmaticus
Severe persistent asthma with status
asthmaticus
Unspecified asthma with status asthma
ticus

8. Cause
While documenting the cause of asthma, common codes used include
Z77.22 Contact with and (suspected)
exposure to environmental tobacco
smoke (acute) (chronic)
P96.81 Exposure to (parental)
(environmental) tobacco smoke in
the perinatal period
Z87.891 Personal history of nicotine
dependence
F17.228 Nicotine dependence,
chewing tobacco, with other
nicotine-induced disorders
F17.298 Nicotine dependence,
other tobacco product, with other
nicotine-induced disorders
Z72.0 Tobacco use

9. Codes that are exceptions from a diagnosis as J45 asthma
J67.8
J69.8
J82
J60
R06.2
Hypersensitivity pneumonitis due to other organic
dusts (wood asthma)
Pneumonitis due to inhalation of other solids
and liquids (detergent asthma)
Pulmonary eosinophilia, not elsewhere classified
(eosinophilic asthma)
Coal worker's pneumoconiosis (miner's asthma)
Wheezing

10. Other key things medical coders must note include
 These types of asthma cannot be combined with a J45 code
because the conditions cannot coexist.
 Chronic obstructive asthma (J44.9) can be included in the
submitted code because the condition can coexist with a J45
code.
To code asthma that comes with a wide variety of potential choices,
it is crucial for coding specialists in hospitals and medical billing
companies to have a clear idea of the structure and organization of
the ICD-10 code set.

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