Urologists and medical billers who are responsible for coding and billing for urologic services need to have a thorough understanding of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) codes specific to urology to ensure that claims are processed correctly and reimbursement is obtained. It’s important to know that urology codes are divided into several categories such as nephropathies, acute kidney failure, calculi of the urinary tract, disorders of the male genitourinary organs, disorders of the female pelvic organs and noninflammatory disorders of the female genital tract.
It’s important for billers to be accurate and specific when coding for urology services, as the codes can have a significant impact on the reimbursement received from insurance payers. Furthermore, billers need to be familiar with the procedure codes such as CPT codes which are used to bill for the procedures performed by the urologist.
In 2023, a couple of new nephropathy codes were published. For example, you will see new code N14.11 (Contrast-induced nephropathy). Code N14.11 will also include contrast medium, radiography nephropathy. You will also see new code N14.19 (Nephropathy induced by other drugs, medicaments and biological substances) in 2023.
In summary, urology is a complex field with a wide range of conditions and treatments. Medical billers must have a good understanding of the ICD-10 codes specific to urology and the procedure codes used to bill for services in order to ensure that claims are processed correctly and reimbursement is obtained.
In 2023, CMS published a new category N80.A- (Endometriosis of bladder and ureters). New codes in that category include the following:
N80.A0 (Endometriosis of bladder, unspecified depth). Note: This code will also include endometriosis of the bladder NOS.
Following are the major categories of ICD-10 codes for Urology. It’s important to note that this is not an exhaustive list of all codes related to urology, specific codes may vary depending on the specific diagnosis
| Codes | Code Description |
|---|---|
| N00-N99 | Diseases of the genitourinary system |
| N10-N16 | Nephropathies |
| N10 | Acute nephritic syndrome |
| N11 | Nephrotic syndrome |
| N12 | Nephritis and nephropathy, not elsewhere classified |
| N13 | Obstructive and reflux uropathy |
| N15 | Other kidney disorders in diseases classified elsewhere |
| N20-N23 | Urolithiasis |
| N25.0 | Acute kidney failure with tubular necrosis |
| N30-N39 | Other diseases of the urinary tract |
| N40-N53 | Diseases of male genital organs |
| N60-N64 | Diseases of the breast |
| N70-N77 | Inflammatory diseases of female pelvic organs |
| N80-N98 | Noninflammatory disorders of female pelvic organs |
Here is a table of specific ICD-10 codes for urology:
| Codes | Code Description |
|---|---|
| N30.0 | Cystitis, unspecified |
| N30.9 | Cystitis, unspecified |
| N31.0 | Neuromuscular dysfunction of bladder, unspecified |
| N31.1 | Detrusor muscle dysfunction |
| N31.2 | Hyperreflexia of bladder |
| N31.3 | Other neurogenic bladder |
| N31.4 | Hypoactive sexual desire disorder |
| N31.8 | Other specified disorders of bladder |
| N31.9 | Disorder of bladder, unspecified |
| N32.0 | Urethritis, unspecified |
| N32.1 | Gonococcal urethritis |
| N32.2 | Nongonococcal urethritis |
| N32.8 | Other specified urethritis |
| N32.9 | Urethritis, unspecified |
| N33.0 | Stricture of urethra, unspecified |
| N33.1 | Stricture of urethra, male |
| N33.2 | Stricture of urethra, female |
| N33.3 | Stricture of urethra, male and female |
| N33.8 | Other specified disorders of urethra |
| N33.9 | Disorder of urethra, unspecified |
| N34.0 | Urethral diverticulum, unspecified |
| N34.1 | Urethral diverticulum, male |
| N34.2 | Urethral diverticulum, female |
| N34.3 | Urethral diverticulum, male and female |
| N34.8 | Other specified disorders of urethra |
| N34.9 | Disorder of urethra, unspecified |
| N35.0 | Male urethral abscess |
| N35.1 | Male urethral fistula |
| N35.2 | Male urethral stricture following surgery |
| N35.3 | Male urethral stricture following radiation therapy |
| N35.4 | Male urethral stricture following trauma |
| N35.5 | Male urethral stricture following infection |
| N35.6 | Male urethral stricture following inflammation |
| N35.7 | Male urethral stricture, idiopathic |
| N35.8 | Other specified disorders of male urethra |
| N35.9 | Disorder of male urethra, unspecified |
| N36.0 | Female urethral abscess |
| N36.1 | Female urethral fistula |
| N36.2 | Female urethral stricture following surgery |
| N36.3 | Female urethral stricture following radiation therapy |
| N36.4 | Female urethral stricture following trauma |
| N36.5 | Female urethral stricture following infection |
| N36.6 | Female urethral stricture following inflammation |
| N36.7 | Female urethral stricture, idiopathic |
| N36.8 | Other specified disorders of female urethra |
| N36.9 | Disorder of female urethra, unspecified |
Value-based medicine programs are looking at total cost of patient care in Urology. The urologists need to improve is accurate coding of chronic urologic diagnoses. We strongly recommend using technology and mobile apps like DocCharge to assist you in coding for all relevant diagnoses for each patient, including updating any older diagnoses and adding new chronic diseases. But urologist and urology billing staff need to understand that your practice’s long-term financial health can be adversely affected by these additional patient problems.
DocCharge has recently implemented advanced search algorithm that can identify specific urologic diagnosis very efficiently during patient visits. These coding tools improve physician productivity and saves time for physicians and billers.
DocCharge mobile charge capture solution helps Urologists accurately capture charges and thus improve your productivity. If you’re interested for a FREE demo please contact us for a customized demo for your practice.
DocCharge: Be productive again! Practice analytics, mobile charge capture, HIPAA compliant messaging, and tools for billers.
DocCharge is a mobile physician productivity platform enabling physicians and clinicians to save time by efficiently capture patient billings, communicate with back office and maximize revenue by avoiding lost charges using real-time analytics on a mobile device. Designed by a physician for fellow physicians, residents/fellows, and mid-level providers, DocCharge maximizes one’s productivity. Practice Administrators and outsourced billing companies find the application very intuitive, thus improving practice efficiency and revenue.
DocCharge is transforming healthcare data into useful and actionable insights, thereby allowing partner subscribers to focus their resources on the core business of providing high quality patient care. For more information, visit www.DocCharge.com, email: contact@DocCharge.com.
