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T38 vs T50.9

T38 (Poisoning by, adverse effect of and underdosing of hormones and their synthetic substitutes and antagonists, not elsewhere classified) compared with T50.9 (Poisoning by, adverse effect of and underdosing of other and unspecified drugs, medicaments and biological substances), 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. T38 carries an Excludes1 note covering T50.9: “parathyroid hormones and derivatives (T50.9-)”

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

T38Poisoning by, adverse effect of and underdosing of hormones and their synthetic substitutes and antagonists, not elsewhere classifiedT50.9Poisoning by, adverse effect of and underdosing of other and unspecified drugs, medicaments and biological substances
Billing statusNon-billable header

Report instead: T38.0X1A, T38.0X1D, T38.0X1S, T38.0X2A, T38.0X2D

Non-billable header

Report instead: T50.901A, T50.901D, T50.901S, T50.902A, T50.902D

ClassificationS00-T88 — Injury, Poisoning and Certain Other Consequences of External Causes (S00-T88)S00-T88 — Injury, Poisoning and Certain Other Consequences of External Causes (S00-T88)
DefinitionPoisoning by, adverse effect of and underdosing of hormones and their synthetic substitutes and antagonists, not elsewhere classified is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (T38).Poisoning by, adverse effect of and underdosing of other and unspecified drugs, medicaments and biological substances is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (T50.9).
7th characterThe appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category T38The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category T50
Includes
adverse effect of correct substance properly administered
poisoning by overdose of substance
poisoning by wrong substance given or taken in error
underdosing by (inadvertently) (deliberately) taking less substance than prescribed or instructed
adverse effect of correct substance properly administered
poisoning by overdose of substance
poisoning by wrong substance given or taken in error
underdosing by (inadvertently) (deliberately) taking less substance than prescribed or instructed
Use additional code
code(s) to specify:
manifestations of poisoning
underdosing or failure in dosage during medical and surgical care (Y63.6, Y63.8-Y63.9)
code(s) to specify:
manifestations of poisoning
underdosing or failure in dosage during medical and surgical care (Y63.6, Y63.8-Y63.9)
Code first
, for adverse effects, the nature of the adverse effect, such as:
adverse effect NOS (T88.7)
, for adverse effects, the nature of the adverse effect, such as:
adverse effect NOS (T88.7)

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