Generalized Anxiety Disorder ICD 10
The 2022 updates to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases (ICD-10-CM) have given clinicians more precision in coding for anxiety disorders.
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and unspecified anxiety disorder were both previously coded as 300.00 under ICD-9. There is now a generalized anxiety disorder ICD-10 code: F41.1. This is a billable code that allows you to bill for treating GAD specifically.
Here’s what you need to know about ICD 10 codes for anxiety disorders.
GAD: Symptoms and Prevalence
GAD affects about 3 percent of the U.S. population each year, making it a frequently-diagnosed mental health concern. If you treat patients for anxiety, chances are you’ll be using the F41.1 code regularly.
GAD causes feelings of worry, nervousness, fear, or dread that last six months or more. It may cause a patient to worry excessively over many different problems, or to worry without an apparent cause. Physical symptoms like disrupted sleep, sweating, or feeling short of breath may be present as well. Clients who suffer from GAD often experience worry that is out of proportion to the threats they actually face in day-to-day life. They may be unable to control their worry, and may anticipate worst-case scenarios even when that conclusion is not warranted.
While the exact cause of GAD is unknown, it’s most likely a influenced by various factors including brain chemistry, genetics, personality, trauma history, family background, and other social or lifestyle factors.
Symptom Criteria for Generalized Anxiety Disorder
To meet the criteria for a diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder, a patient should have at least three of the following symptoms along with their fear and worry:
- Feeling easily fatigued
- Feelings of restlessness or being on edge
- Irritability
- Difficulty concentrating
- Muscle tension
- Sleep disturbances
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Other new ICD-10 Codes Commonly Used for Anxiety
A few other changes to the ICD-10 codes for anxiety disorders help to make your coding and billing more precise.
- ICD-9 code 300.00 for unspecified anxiety disorder is now F41.9 for unspecified anxiety disorder, F41.1 for generalized anxiety disorder, and F41.8 for other specified anxiety disorders.
- Code 300.01 for panic disorder without agoraphobia is now F41.0 for panic disorder without agoraphobia (episodic paroxysmal anxiety).
- Code 300.02 for generalized anxiety disorder is now F41.1 with the same description.
- Code 300.21 for agoraphobia with panic disorder is now F32.1 with the same description.
Want to learn more about ICD-10 codes? Check out our information on other specific codes, such as ICD-10 Codes for Depression – F32.0–F33.3, ICD-10 Code for Altered Mental Status, Unspecified – R41.82, and ICD-10 Code for Suicidal Ideation – R45.851.
Keep in mind that in addition to competent ICD-10 coding, there are other strategies you can take advantage of to increase the odds that you’ll get paid for your hard work. You could also consider adopting measurement-based care and taking advantage of all the payment opportunities associated with it.
ICD-10 Coding with the Valant Electronic Health Record
Valant is an EHR software company composed of industry experts who understand how challenging it can be to keep up with ever-changing coding requirements. To support customers during their transition from ICD-9, for example, Valant used the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ General Equivalence Mapping (GEMs) to associate ICD-9 codes with ICD-10 codes within our application. To learn more about our EHR system and the strides we take to streamline behavioral health businesses, request a demo from Valant today.
