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H44.513 ICD-10-CM Code: Absolute glaucoma, bilateral

Billing Status: YES. This is a valid, specific, and billable ICD-10-CM reference.

Coding at a Glance

Tabular directives
1 inclusion term

Inpatient Payment Groups (MS-DRG)

Potential MS-DRG participation — not a DRG assignment.

MS-DRGs this diagnosis helps define, as principal or secondary, per the CMS ICD-10-CM/PCS MS-DRG Definitions Manual v43, Appendix B.

  • MS-DRG 124 — OTHER DISORDERS OF THE EYE WITH MCC OR THROMBOLYTIC AGENT (MDC 02)
  • MS-DRG 125 — OTHER DISORDERS OF THE EYE WITHOUT MCC (MDC 02)

A diagnosis appearing in a group's logic does not by itself determine the DRG assigned to a stay; the grouper uses the full claim.

Coding instructions

Official Tabular Instructional Notes: the inclusion, exclusion and sequencing notes published for H44.513 in the official ICD-10-CM tabular list, quoted as published.

Source: CMS/CDC — ICD-10-CM Tabular ListRelease: FY2026Effective: October 1, 2025

Notes without a marker are published on H44.513 itself; “inherited from” names the category or block whose note applies here.

Includes

Conditions the official ICD-10-CM tabular list includes under this code.

  • disorders affecting multiple structures of eye

Source: inherited from H44

Coder workflow for H44.513

MedCoder structured workflow — derived from this code’s own official record

Before you code H44.513

  1. Laterality is coded in this family. Confirm the side documented — right, left, or bilateral — and select the matching code (this page’s code: bilateral). The unspecified-side code applies only when the record states no side. Laterality is assigned from the documented side; where a bilateral code exists and both sides are documented, it is used instead of two unilateral codes (Guidelines I.B.13).

    See the relationships section · Guide: Laterality coding →

Choose the right path

  1. Is the side documented?
    Yes → Select the code for the documented side (or the bilateral code when both sides are documented and one exists).
    No → Use the unspecified-side code only when the record states no side; a query is the alternative.

Consider H44.513. Then confirm the code is valid for the date of service in the Verify section.

Documentation check

The provider’s diagnostic statement
Codes are assigned from the provider’s documented diagnosis, not from clinical criteria, test values or a medication list (Guidelines I.A.19).
Laterality
Right, left or bilateral as documented; unspecified only when the record states no side (Guidelines I.B.13).

Coding decision scenarios

Pattern scenarios for this code’s structure — decision rules, not clinical cases

Documentation: The record documents the condition on one side only.

Coding question: Which code in this family applies?

Path: Select the sibling code for the documented side.

Reason: Laterality is assigned from the documented side; the unspecified-side code is for records that state no side (Guidelines I.B.13).

Every row is derived from this code’s own record — its title, tabular notes, 7th-character family and same-category siblings — with fixed MedCoder wording; nothing is inferred about a patient. The official notes and guideline text are in the sections each row links to, and they control.

Code Overview

Absolute glaucoma, bilateral is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (H44.513).

MedCoder summary Summary composed by MedCoder from this code's official ICD-10-CM record. The tabular instructional notes themselves appear verbatim below.

Verify Before Coding

  • No Medicare Code Editor or MS-DRG Definitions Manual restrictions apply to this code.

From the code registry, the Medicare Code Editor, and the MS-DRG Definitions Manual. Check it against a full claim in Claim Check.

Relationships & Classification

MedCoder structured relationships — computed from published CMS and AHRQ datasets

Other codes that name H44.513 or its code family, from the CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes. Tabular-note edges are stored at the code family level that carries each note.

Referenced by 1 Excludes1 note: H40 — Glaucoma (via H44.51.-).

These codes’ tabular lists mark this diagnosis as mutually exclusive — not reported together unless the conditions are documented as unrelated.

MS-DRG Grouper Relationships (FY2026)

Potential MS-DRG participation — not a DRG assignment.

FY2026 MS-DRG: not on the CMS CC/MCC list — as a secondary diagnosis this code does not change MS-DRG severity for that release.

Named in the grouper logic of 2 MS-DRGs: DRG 124 (MDC 02), DRG 125 (MDC 02).

From the CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (Appendices B and C). Actual DRG assignment depends on the complete claim.

Clinical classification (AHRQ CCSR):EYE003 — Glaucoma (default).

Clinical Classifications Software Refined (CCSR) for ICD-10-CM Diagnoses. Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Related Codes

Same clinical category (CCSR)

AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software groups these diagnoses under the same clinical category (Glaucoma).

H40.813 — Glaucoma with increased episcleral venous pressure, bilateral, H40.819 — Glaucoma with increased episcleral venous pressure, unspecified eye, H40.821 — Hypersecretion glaucoma, right eye, H40.822 — Hypersecretion glaucoma, left eye, H40.823 — Hypersecretion glaucoma, bilateral, H40.829 — Hypersecretion glaucoma, unspecified eye, H40.831 — Aqueous misdirection, right eye, H40.832 — Aqueous misdirection, left eye, H40.833 — Aqueous misdirection, bilateral, H40.839 — Aqueous misdirection, unspecified eye, H40.841 — Neovascular secondary angle closure glaucoma, right eye, H40.842 — Neovascular secondary angle closure glaucoma, left eye, H40.843 — Neovascular secondary angle closure glaucoma, bilateral, H40.849 — Neovascular secondary angle closure glaucoma, unspecified eye, H40.89 — Other specified glaucoma, H40.9 — Unspecified glaucoma, H42 — Glaucoma in diseases classified elsewhere, H44.511 — Absolute glaucoma, right eye, H44.512 — Absolute glaucoma, left eye, H44.519 — Absolute glaucoma, unspecified eye, +252 more

Same Index main term, other category

The ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries files this code under the main term “Glaucoma”; these codes share that main term but sit in a different category of the Tabular List.

H40.15 — Residual stage of open-angle glaucoma (open angle, primary, residual stage), H40.20 — Unspecified primary angle-closure glaucoma (angle-closure), H40.21 — Acute angle-closure glaucoma (angle-closure, acute), H40.22 — Chronic angle-closure glaucoma (angle-closure, chronic), H40.23 — Intermittent angle-closure glaucoma (angle-closure, intermittent), H40.24 — Residual stage of angle-closure glaucoma (angle-closure, residual stage), H40.3 — Glaucoma secondary to eye trauma (secondary, trauma), H40.4 — Glaucoma secondary to eye inflammation (secondary, inflammation), H40.5 — Glaucoma secondary to other eye disorders (secondary), H40.6 — Glaucoma secondary to drugs (secondary, drugs), H40.81 — Glaucoma with increased episcleral venous pressure (with, increased episcleral venous pressure), H40.82 — Hypersecretion glaucoma (hypersecretion), H40.83 — Aqueous misdirection (malignant), H40.84 — Neovascular secondary angle closure glaucoma (neovascular secondary angle closure), H40.89 — Other specified glaucoma (specified type NEC), H40.9 — Unspecified glaucoma, P15.3 — Birth injury to eye (traumatic, newborn), Q13.1 — Absence of iris (in, aniridia), Q13.81 — Rieger anomaly (in, Rieger anomaly), Q15.0 — Congenital glaucoma (newborn), +13 more

Contextual Map

Every relationship of H44.513 in one view: hierarchy, official tabular instructions in both directions, clinical classification, risk adjustment, MS-DRG participation, index terms and change history — each edge carrying the CMS source it derives from.

Run H44.513 with this related code in Claim Check

Hierarchy

Referenced by Excludes1 notes

  • H40 — Glaucoma[Excludes1](via H44.51.-): “absolute glaucoma (H44.51-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026

Clinical classification (CCSR)

MS-DRG Grouper

MDC crossing

  • MDC 02 — Diseases and Disorders of the Eye[MDC crossing]: “Diseases and Disorders of the Eye — the grouper's crossing between diagnoses and procedures: a principal diagnosis sets the MDC, and same-MDC procedures move the stay to its surgical DRGs. 1,200 same-MDC procedures group here; browse them on the MDC page.”— CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual · FY2026

Nearest codes (40)

Change history

  • FY2016 — In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption [Change history]— CMS release files (code change ledger) · icd10cm-fy2016

Sources for this page

Codes, titles, notes, index terms and mappings on this page are transcribed from the datasets below. Relationships MedCoder computed and text MedCoder wrote are labelled where they appear.

Code, title, tabular notes and index terms Official source data
CMS/CDC ICD-10-CM FY2026 tabular list, index and tables, effective October 1, 2025 Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Claim edits Official source data
CMS Definitions of Medicare Code Edits — v43.1 (April 2026) Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Inpatient payment groups Official source data
CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (incl. Appendix B diagnosis index, Appendix C CC/MCC list, Appendix E procedure index) and IPPS Final Rule tables — v43 Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Change history and date-of-service validity Official source data
CMS ICD-10-CM release addenda, ingested release by release into the change ledger Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Comparisons, relationships and the contextual map MedCoder structured relationship
Computed by MedCoder from the tabular notes and tables above; every derived relationship is marked as derived where it appears
Summary and FAQ answers MedCoder explanation
Written by MedCoder to explain the sources above: drafted with AI assistance, checked by a person against the release files, and labelled as MedCoder text where it appears. Not official text.

Labels on this page: Official source data · MedCoder structured relationship · MedCoder explanation. How to read the labels · All data sources and release dates

Change history

  • FY2016 — October 1, 2015
    In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption
    Absolute glaucoma, bilateral

No changes since FY2016 — additions, deletions, description changes and billable-status changes are tracked through FY2027 (effective October 1, 2026), and none are recorded for this code. Note changes are tracked from FY2027 only.

Nearest Codes in This Family

Official ICD-10-CM classifications closest to H44.513 in its code family, with their registry titles.

View all codes in the H44 family