Q68 vs Q71
Q68 (Other congenital musculoskeletal deformities) compared with Q71 (Reduction defects of upper limb), 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. Q68 carries an Excludes1 note covering Q71: “reduction defects of limb(s) (Q71-Q73)”
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
| Q68Other congenital musculoskeletal deformities | Q71Reduction defects of upper limb | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Non-billable header | Non-billable header |
| Classification | Q00-Q99 — Congenital Malformations, Deformations and Chromosomal Abnormalities (Q00-Q99) | Q00-Q99 — Congenital Malformations, Deformations and Chromosomal Abnormalities (Q00-Q99) |
| Definition | Other congenital musculoskeletal deformities is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (Q68). | Reduction defects of upper limb is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (Q71). |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources