Frequently Asked Questions

If you are a teacher or professor who has already assigned the Handbook in a course, you are eligible to receive a desk copy of the Coding Handbook. Please note that you are required to submit documentation showing that you have adopted the 2021 ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS Coding Handbook for your class or program. Please email your receipt to codingclinic@aha.org. 

An ePub file is a popular file format used for storing ebooks and other types of content. Since ePub files are layout agnostic, screen size does not affect the formatting of an ePub file--they can display content on screens as small as 3.5". 

There are several eReader options to open an ePub. EPub files can be opened on different eReader devices, including Kobo and Barnes & Noble's Nook. You can also open the file on your desktop using one of the many free ePub reading programs, including Adobe Digital Editions, Calibre, or Stanza Desktop. Finally, iPhone and Android devices come preloaded with their own applications to open ePub files--iBooks and Google Play. 

Please note that you cannot open ePub files directly on a Kindle, but you can convert the file so it opens on the Kindle device.

Alternate Format Requests for Students with Disabilities:

If you provide Disability Services for a post-secondary educational institution in the U.S. or Canada and need to obtain material for a student with a documented print disability, please place your request on the AccessText Network. If you are not yet a member of AccessText, please sign up for a free membership at www.accesstext.org. Questions about AccessText can be sent to membership@accesstext.org.

If you are not eligible for AccessText membership, please contact us at codingclinicsupport@aha.org to place the request.

Yes, you can download the ICD-10-CM/PCS Coding Handbook ePub to up to six devices, as long as the devices are all registered with the same Adobe ID. Please note that your computer counts as one device.

Yes, you must create an account before submitting a question to the AHA Central Office. The AHA Central Office needs complete contact information in order to request additional information, when needed, and to send the official response. To create an account, click create an account and you will be prompted to enter your name and email address. The system will check for potential records that may already exist. If you are found, please review the information presented and proceed. If no matches are found continue through the registration process. 

The following fields will be required: your name, organization (place of business), address, phone number, password, and security question selection and security question answer. If there are no matches to your organization in our database, please select "create new" from the drop-down list and enter the business information. Once your account is created, please allow up to three business days for your account to be activated. 

The time it takes to process a question depends upon its complexity*. The AHA Central Office staff will conduct thorough research to determine a response. If necessary, the question may be forwarded to the Editorial Advisory Board for review and comment. In the latter case, processing may take up to six months for resolution. For more information, please visit the Editorial Advisory Boards page.

*Due to the increased volume of ICD-10-CM/PCS coding advice, the response time for coding advice requests has increased, and the time can vary. We apologize for this delay. We would like to assure you that The Central Office on ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS is working diligently to get your request(s) answered as soon as possible.*

The AHA Central Office will not respond to the following HCPCS codes:

• Inquiries from physician providers related to CPT-4. These questions will be referred to the American Medical Association (AMA).
• Questions related to HCPCS level II codes except for A-codes, for ambulance services and radiopharmaceuticals, C-codes, G-codes, J-codes and Q-codes other than Q0136 through Q0181.
• The remainder of the body of Level II HCPCS codes related to durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and other supplies. These questions will be referred to Durable Medical Equipment Regional Carriers (DMERCs) or their successors, the DME Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs). These codes do not apply to hospital or physician providers.

The AHA Central Office will not respond to the following ICD-10-PCS coding questions:

• We regret that the AHA Central Office clearinghouse is not able to support requests for ICD-10-PCS coding advice related to outpatient procedures.  Such requests for coding advice will be returned unanswered. However, we are happy to assist you with HCPCS coding questions for outpatient procedures. The ICD-10-PCS code set was not designed to support the coding of most services that are performed by providers in the outpatient setting. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Administrative Simplification Modifications to Medical Data Code Set Standards (published in the Federal Register, Vol. 74, No. 11, pp. 3328-3362, January 16, 2009) adopted ICD–10–PCS for inpatient hospital procedure coding only.

The AHA Central Office will not respond to the following types of questions for ICD-9-CM, ICD-10-CM/PCS or HCPCS:

• Questions related to payment or coverage issues
• Questions related to the interpretation of medical record documentation, such as identifying the principal diagnosis—unless it relates to the application of specific coding guidelines or specific previously published coding advice
• Questions related to DRG assignment or DRG shifts from ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM/PCS
• Questions related to missing or incomplete documentation or validation of what is appropriate documentation (paper or electronic)
• Questions related to clinical issues or clinical criteria for diagnoses or procedures
• Questions related to mediating differences of opinion between providers and auditors or payers or any other third party reviewers—unless it relates to the application of specific coding guidelines or specific previously published coding advice
• Requests for the Central Office to code the entire medical record or operative report or to validate code assignment.
• Questions or recommendations related to ICD-10-CM Index or Tabular List problems or conflicting instructions. Such questions should be directed to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics at nchsicd10CM@cdc.gov
• Questions or recommendations regarding ICD-10-PCS Index entries, ICD-10-PCS device definitions, ICD-10-PCS Reference manual or the General Equivalence Mappings (GEMS) should be sent to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) at ICDProcedureCodeRequest@cms.hhs.gov
• Questions related to coding data elements such as etiological diagnoses or comorbidities on the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility-Patient Assessment Instrument (IRF-PAI) or elements on the OASIS data set
• For ICD-10-CM/PCS only: Questions without supporting medical record documentation

The AHA Central Office was created through a written Memorandum of Understanding between the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) in 1963 to:

• Serve as the U.S. clearinghouse for issues related to the use of ICD-9-CM before 2012 and ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS currently. 
• Work with NCHS and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to maintain the integrity of the classification system
• Recommend revisions and modifications to the current and future revisions of the ICD
• Develop educational material and programs on ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS

In August 2005, CMS and AHA entered into an agreement for the establishment of an AHA clearinghouse for issues related to the use of certain HCPCS codes. Under this agreement, responsibilities of the AHA Central Office includes providing advice on the following:

• Level I HCPCS (CPT-4 codes) for hospital providers.
• Certain Level II HCPCS codes.

For more information, please visit Our History & Role page.

You may have complimentary access to the ICD-10-CM/PCS Coding Handbook educator resource if all of the following conditions are met:

• Your username is an .edu email address, 
• You work for a CAHIIM- or PCAP-accredited program, and 
• You are using the ICD-10-CM/PCS Coding Handbook for a class in your CAHIIM- or PCAP-accredited program

If all of these conditions are not met, you may purchase the ICD-10-CM/PCS Coding Handbook slide deck PDFs by visiting the Coding Handbook page. 

For questions with multiple answers, you must separate your answers with a comma and then a space. (Example: 0NS0052, 0NU00J2) 

For ICD-10 quizzes, please make sure you use the alphabetical and numerical characters correctly. (Example: 06H033Z; NOT O6HO33Z) 

For ICD-10 quizzes, please be sure to show dotted code when necessary. (Example: K35.20; NOT K3520)