R06.00 – Dyspnea,unspecified

Billable/ Specific Code:

R06.00 is a billable/specific ICD-10-CM code that can be used to indicate a diagnosis for reimbursement purposes.

Approximate Synonyms:

• Dyspnea
• Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea
• Respiratory distress
• Shortness of breath

Clinical Information

• A disorder characterized by an uncomfortable sensation of difficulty breathing.
• An uncomfortable sensation of difficulty breathing. It may present as an acute or chronic sign of an underlying respiratory or heart disorder.
• Difficult or labored breathing.
• Difficult, painful breathing or shortness of breath.
• Difficulty in breathing which may or may not have an organic cause.
• Labored or difficult breathing associated with a variety of disorders, indicating inadequate ventilation or low blood oxygen or a subjective experience of breathing discomfort.

Related Specialties:

• pulmonology

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.