Test Your PCS Knowledge of Character 6 – Device

For the following ICD-10-PCS sections Character 6 classifies the following:

• section 3 (Administration) – substance
• section 5 (Extracorporeal Assistance and Performance) – function
• section 6 (Extracorporeal Therapies) – qualifier
• section 7 (Osteopathic) – method
• section 8 (Other Procedures) – method
• section B (Imaging) – qualifier
• section C (Nuclear Medicine) – qualifier
• section D (Radiation Therapy) – isotope
• section F (Physical Rehabilitation and Diagnostic Audiology) – equipment
• section G (Mental Health) – qualifier
• section H (Substance Abuse Treatment) – qualifier.

Device Key

An exhaustive list of devices is not possible in the ICD-10-PCS root operation tables, so a Device Key appendix is included in ICD-10-PCS, and it is used to select the appropriate device values for grafts, prostheses, implants, and appliances not listed in the root operation tables.

Below is an excerpt from the Device Key.  The device listed in the left column is not provided in any of the root operation tables, so it is classified to the device value listed in the right column. 

Official Device Guidelines

The following are device-specific guidelines that appear in the ICD-10-PCS Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting:

• A device is coded only if a device remains after the procedure is completed. If no device remains, the device value No Device is coded (ICD-10-PCS Official Guideline B6.1a).

• Materials such as sutures, ligatures, radiological markers, and temporary post-operative wound drains are considered integral to the performance of a procedure and are not coded as devices (ICD-10-PCS Official Guideline B6.1b).

• Procedures performed on a device only and not on a body part are specified in the root operations Change, Irrigation, Removal, and Revision, and are coded to the procedure performed (ICD-10-PCS Official Guideline B6.1c).

Example: Irrigation of percutaneous nephrostomy tube is coded to the root operation Irrigation of indwelling device in the Administration section.

• A separate procedure to put in a drainage device is coded to the root operation Drainage with the device value Drainage Device (ICD-10-PCS Official Guideline B6.2).

Exercises

Using the Device Key,identify the device value for each of the following appliances, grafts, implants, or prostheses (the Answer Key appears at the end of this article):

*To access the 2014 ICD-10-PCS electronic files, go to: http://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Coding/ICD10/2014-ICD-10-PCS.html, scroll down, and download the folder titled “2014 Code Tables and Index.” When you open the folder, you will see the following file:“PCS_2014.” This PDF file is the “ICD-10-PCS 2014 Tables and Index.”

ANSWER KEY (source is the ICD-10-PCS 2014 Device Key):