D50.9 Diagnosis Code: Iron Deficiency Anemia

Billable/ Specific Code:

D50.9 is a billable/specific ICD-10-CM code that can be used to indicate a diagnosis for reimbursement purposes.

Discover the D50.9 diagnosis code, also known as the D50.9 ICD 10 code, which identifies iron deficiency anemia. Learn about its symptoms, diagnosis methods, and effective treatments for managing this condition.

Applicable To:

• Diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism
• Iron deficiency anemia

Approximate Synonyms:

• Anemia, iron deficiency
• Anemia, microcytic, hypochromic
• Anemia, microcytic, normochromic
• Anemia, normocytic, hypochromic
• Iron deficiency anemia
• Iron deficiency anemia in childbirth
• Iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy
• Iron deficiency anemia of pregnancy
• Iron deficiency anemia postpartum
• Microcytic anemia
• Microcytic hypochromic anemia
• Microcytic normochromic anemia
• Normocytic hypochromic anemia
• Postpartum (after childbirth) iron deficiency anemia

Clinical Information

• Anemia caused by low iron intake, inefficient iron absorption in the gastrointestinal tract, or chronic blood loss.
• Anemia characterized by decreased or absent iron stores, low serum iron concentration, low transferrin saturation, and low hemoglobin concentration or hematocrit value. The erythrocytes are hypochromic and microcytic and the iron binding capacity is increased.

ICD-10: A Brief Synopsis

For disease reporting, the US utilizes its own national variant of ICD-10 called the ICD-10 Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM). A procedural classification called ICD-10 Procedure Coding System (ICD-10-PCS) has also been developed for capturing inpatient procedures. The ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS were developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). There are over 70,000 ICD-10-PCS procedure codes and over 69,000 ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes, compared to about 3,800 procedure codes and roughly 14,000 diagnosis codes found in the previous ICD-9-CM.

The expansion of healthcare delivery systems and changes in global health trends prompted a need for codes with improved clinical accuracy and specificity. The alphanumeric coding in ICD-10 is an improvement from ICD-9 which had a limited number of codes and a restrictive structure. Early concerns in the implementation of ICD-10 included the cost and the availability of resources for training healthcare workers and professional coders.

There was much controversy when the transition from the ICD-9-CM to the ICD-10-CM was first announced in the US. Many providers were concerned about the vast number of codes being added, the complexity of the new coding system, and the costs associated with the transition. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) weighed these concerns against the benefits of having more accurate data collection, clearer documentation of diagnoses and procedures, and more accurate claims processing. CMS decided the financial and public health cost associated with continuing to use the ICD-9-CM was too high and mandated the switch to ICD-10-CM.