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M20.02 vs R68.3

M20.02 (Boutonnière deformity) compared with R68.3 (Clubbing of fingers), 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. M20.02 carries an Excludes1 note covering R68.3: “clubbing of fingers (R68.3)”

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

M20.02Boutonnière deformityR68.3Clubbing of fingers
Billing statusNon-billable headerBillable
ClassificationM00-M99 — Diseases of the Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue (M00-M99)R00-R99 — Symptoms, Signs and Abnormal Clinical and Laboratory Findings, Not Elsewhere Classified (R00-R99)
DefinitionBoutonnière deformity is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (M20.02).Clubbing of fingers is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (R68.3).
Includes
Clubbing of nails

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