CAC CAC ICD-10 Diagnosis Coding for Ambulance Services 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which ICD-10-CM code is used for respiratory failure as the primary reason for an emergency ambulance call?
- J96.00 (Correct answer)
- R06.09
- J18.9
- R09.2
Correct answer: J96.00
J96.00 represents acute respiratory failure, unspecified, which is used when the physician has documented respiratory failure as the condition requiring emergency transport.
Question 2: A patient is transported following a drug overdose. Which ICD-10-CM guideline applies to sequencing the poisoning code?
- Code the poisoning first, then the manifestation (Correct answer)
- Code the manifestation first, then the poisoning
- Use only the substance code
- Use an external cause code only
Correct answer: Code the poisoning first, then the manifestation
ICD-10-CM guidelines for poisoning require that the poisoning code (T36–T65) be sequenced first, followed by the manifestation codes.
Question 3: When coding a cardiac arrest transport, which ICD-10-CM code represents cardiac arrest due to underlying cardiac condition?
- I46.8
- I46.9 (Correct answer)
- I46.2
- R00.1
Correct answer: I46.9
I46.9 is used for cardiac arrest, cause unspecified, when documentation does not specify the underlying etiology.
Question 4: Which external cause code (V, W, X, Y) category is used to identify a motor vehicle accident as the cause of injury during an ambulance call?
- V codes (Correct answer)
- W codes
- X codes
- Y codes
Correct answer: V codes
V codes (V00–V99) in ICD-10-CM cover transport accidents, including motor vehicle collisions, and are used as external cause codes.
Question 5: A patient with COPD exacerbation is transported via ambulance. Which ICD-10-CM code best captures an acute exacerbation of COPD?
- J44.1 (Correct answer)
- J44.0
- J44.9
- J45.901
Correct answer: J44.1
J44.1 (COPD with acute exacerbation) is used when the patient with COPD is experiencing an acute worsening requiring emergency intervention.
Question 6: Which ICD-10-CM placeholder character 'X' is used for codes requiring a certain number of characters before the 7th character extension?
- X is used to fill empty character positions (Correct answer)
- X indicates an unknown diagnosis
- X marks an external cause code
- X replaces missing documentation
Correct answer: X is used to fill empty character positions
The placeholder 'X' fills character positions 4, 5, or 6 in ICD-10-CM codes that require a 7th character but have fewer than 6 characters in the base code.
CAC CAC ICD-10 Diagnosis Coding for Ambulance Services 2
Which ICD-10-CM code is used for respiratory failure as the primary reason for an emergency ambulance call?