Healthcare Insights
Top ICD-10 codes for asthma
Asthma is a chronic condition that causes inflammation, swelling and narrowing of the airways in the lungs. This can lead to persistent bouts of coughing, difficulties breathing, chest pain and other symptoms that can majorly interfere with a person’s daily life. According to the WHO, asthma is one of the most common non-communicable diseases affecting both children and adults globally. In 2019, asthma affected about 262 million people.
Below, we’ve listed the 10 most common asthma diagnoses and the ICD-10 codes physicians and medical coders use to classify them.
| ICD-10 code | ICD-10 description | # total diagnoses | Total charges | Explore dataset |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| J45909 | Unspecified asthma, uncomplicated | 8,809,971 | $895,657,900 | Explore |
| J4520 | Mild intermittent asthma, uncomplicated | 3,171,119 | $240,033,735 | Explore |
| J4540 | Moderate persistent asthma, uncomplicated | 1,748,280 | $441,980,282 | Explore |
| J4530 | Mild persistent asthma, uncomplicated | 1,362,824 | $172,043,817 | Explore |
| J45901 | Unspecified asthma with (acute) exacerbation | 1,226,093 | $1,542,305,589 | Explore |
| J4550 | Severe persistent asthma, uncomplicated | 568,154 | $981,265,027 | Explore |
| J4521 | Mild intermittent asthma with (acute) exacerbation | 541,411 | $268,558,759 | Explore |
| J45998 | Other asthma | 501,403 | $74,292,094 | Explore |
| J4541 | Moderate persistent asthma with (acute) exacerbation | 421,779 | $294,381,114 | Explore |
| Z825 | Family history of asthma and other chronic lower respiratory diseases | 202,966 | $315,089 | Explore |
| J4531 | Mild persistent asthma with (acute) exacerbation | 201,224 | $91,560,776 | Explore |
Fig. 1. Data from the Definitive Healthcare ClaimsRx product. Claims data is sourced from multiple medical claims clearinghouses in the United States and updated monthly. Data accurate as of June 2022.
What are the ICD-10 codes for asthma?
Unspecified asthma, uncomplicated ranks at the top of our list with a total of 8,809,971 diagnoses in 2021. The ICD-10 code for asthma, unspecified is J45909.
This chronic condition has a considerable lead in both diagnoses and charges compared to all other ICD-10 codes. While many factors could contribute to why J45909 ranks number one, a likely cause could be problems with documentation. Many of the other codes on this list detail asthma of various degrees of chronicity and severity. A lack of proper documentation, however, could cause medical coders to resort to classifying the diagnosis as unspecified asthma, uncomplicated.
An asthma attack, also called “asthma, exacerbation,” is another common diagnosis with a few top positions on our list. The ICD-10 codes for these diagnoses are J45901, J4521, J4541 and J4531.
It’s also important to note that some physicians may regard asthma classifications as fluid. While this condition can’t be cured, a patient’s lifestyle can make the symptoms of asthma easier or harder to manage. Eliminating smoking habits and exercising regularly, alongside medical treatment, can potentially improve a patient’s condition. As a result, the classification of asthma a patient is diagnosed with can change over years and decades.
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