T84.038A vs T84.038D
T84.038A (Mechanical loosening of other internal prosthetic joint, initial encounter) compared with T84.038D (Mechanical loosening of other internal prosthetic joint, subsequent encounter), from the official CMS tabular data. T84.038A and T84.038D code the same injury at a different phase of treatment.
Can these codes be reported together?
Same injury, other encounter phase. T84.038A and T84.038D code the same injury at a different phase of treatment, set by the 7th character.
The 7th character records the type of care given at the encounter being coded (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.C.19.a), so one encounter takes one of these, not both.
Side by side
| T84.038AMechanical loosening of other internal prosthetic joint, initial encounter | T84.038DMechanical loosening of other internal prosthetic joint, subsequent encounter | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Billable | Billable |
| Classification | S00-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) |
| Definition | Mechanical loosening of other internal prosthetic joint, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (T84.038A). | Mechanical loosening of other internal prosthetic joint, subsequent encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (T84.038D). |
| 7th character | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category T84 | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category T84 |
| Use additional code | code to identify the joint (Z96.6-) code for adverse effect, if applicable, to identify drug (T36-T50 with fifth or sixth character 5) code(s) to identify the specified condition resulting from the complication | code to identify the joint (Z96.6-) code for adverse effect, if applicable, to identify drug (T36-T50 with fifth or sixth character 5) code(s) to identify the specified condition resulting from the complication |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources