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Compare/H53.1 vs R44.1

H53.1 vs R44.1

H53.1 (Subjective visual disturbances) compared with R44.1 (Visual hallucinations), from the official CMS tabular data. Do not report these codes together: the official tabular list marks them Excludes1.

Can these codes be reported together?

No — do not report together. H53.1 carries an Excludes1 note covering R44.1: “visual hallucinations (R44.1)”

Sole exception: when the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).

Side by side

H53.1Subjective visual disturbancesR44.1Visual hallucinations
Billing statusNon-billable header

Report instead: H53.10, H53.11, H53.121, H53.122, H53.123

Billable
ClassificationH00-H59 — Diseases of the Eye and Adnexa (H00-H59)R00-R99 — Symptoms, Signs and Abnormal Clinical and Laboratory Findings, Not Elsewhere Classified (R00-R99)
DefinitionSubjective visual disturbances is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (H53.1).Visual hallucinations is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (R44.1).

Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources