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M70.10 ICD-10-CM Code: Bursitis, unspecified hand

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

Coding at a Glance

Tabular directives
1 inclusion term · 1 Excludes1 · 3 Excludes2 · 1 use-additional code

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 557 — TENDONITIS, MYOSITIS AND BURSITIS WITH MCC (MDC 08)
  • MS-DRG 558 — TENDONITIS, MYOSITIS AND BURSITIS WITHOUT MCC (MDC 08)

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 M70.10 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 M70.10 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.

  • soft tissue disorders of occupational origin

Source: inherited from M70

Excludes1 — Not Coded Here

Conditions generally not reported together with this code (Excludes1) -- an error unless the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).

Source: inherited from M70

Excludes2 — Not Included Here

Conditions not covered by this code, but which may be reported alongside it when both are present.

Source: inherited from M70

Use Additional Code

Supplementary codes the tabular list directs you to add.

  • external cause code to identify activity causing disorder (Y93.-)

Source: inherited from M70

Coder workflow for M70.10

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

Before you code M70.10

  1. Unspecified does not mean incorrect. When the record gives no greater specificity, M70.10 may be the appropriate code. Check the record for detail that supports a more specific sibling. An unspecified code is for records that do not provide the detail a more specific code needs; a query, not an assumption, is the route to specificity (Guidelines I.A.9.b, I.B.18).

    ReviewM70.11, M70.12

    See the relationships section · Guide: Other vs unspecified (NEC vs NOS) →

  2. Laterality is coded in this family. Confirm the side documented — right, left, or bilateral — and select the matching code (this page’s code: unspecified). 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).

    ReviewM70.11 · right, M70.12 · left

    Guide: Laterality coding →

  3. Check the Excludes1 note: if the documentation supports a condition named there, do not simply proceed with M70.10. Excludes1 conditions are not reported together with this code unless the record shows they are unrelated (Guidelines I.A.12.a).

    See the official tabular notes

Choose the right path

  1. Does the record document the detail a more specific sibling code needs?
    Yes → Review the specific siblings in this subcategory.
    No → Continue — M70.10 is appropriate when the documentation goes no further.

    ReviewM70.11, M70.12

  2. Does the documentation support a condition named in M70.10’s Excludes1 note?
    Yes → Do not simply proceed: review the excluded code. Both are reported only when the record shows the two conditions are unrelated.
    No → Continue.

    ReviewM71.9

  3. 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.

    ReviewM70.11 · right, M70.12 · left

Consider M70.10. Then work the Use Additional Code note, and 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).
The conditions the Use Additional Code note names
Reported with this code when documented; a conditional instruction (“if applicable”, “if known”) applies only when the record supports it.
Any detail beyond this code’s title
What the record states that a more specific sibling code would capture — or its absence, which itself supports the unspecified code.

Official instructions as workflow

  • Excludes1 — check before selecting M70.10(1 note)

    Coding workflow: If the documentation supports a condition named in this note, do not simply proceed with M70.10: the two are not reported together. The one exception is when the record shows the two conditions are unrelated to each other.

    CompareM71.9

    See the official tabular notes · Guidelines I.A.12.a

  • Excludes2 — not part of M70.10(3 notes)

    Coding workflow: The conditions named in this note are not included in M70.10. When the record documents both, both may be reported; the note is a boundary, not a prohibition.

    CompareM75.5, L89

    See the official tabular notes · Guidelines I.A.12.b

  • Use Additional Code — after identifying M70.10(1 note)

    Coding workflow: Check whether the documentation supports the additional code(s) the note names, and report them with M70.10 when it does. Where the instruction is conditional (“if applicable”, “if known”), it applies only when the record documents the condition.

    ReviewY93

    See the official tabular notes · Guidelines I.A.13

Coding decision scenarios

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

Documentation: The provider documents the condition in the terms of this code’s title and records no further detail.

Coding question: Is a more specific sibling code supportable?

Path: Review the specific siblings in this subcategory and what each requires the record to state.

Reason: A more specific code needs documentation of the distinguishing element; without it the unspecified code is appropriate, and a provider query is the route to specificity (Guidelines I.A.9.b, I.B.18).

ReviewM70.11, M70.12

Documentation: Both the condition M70.10 describes and a condition named in its Excludes1 note are documented for the same encounter.

Coding question: Can both codes be reported?

Path: Review the Excludes1 note and the excluded code, and look for a provider statement on whether the two conditions are related.

Reason: Excludes1 means the two are not coded together; the exception is when the record shows the conditions are unrelated to each other (Guidelines I.A.12.a).

ReviewM71.9

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).

ReviewM70.11 · right, M70.12 · left

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

Bursitis, unspecified hand is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (M70.10).

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

Decision Points

The directives on this code's own record, as a pre-claim checklist.

  1. 1 Use Additional Code instruction — report the named additional code(s) when the documentation supports them. See the Use Additional Code notes
  2. 1 Excludes1 entry — codes named there are generally not reported together with this code (Guidelines I.A.12.a). See the Excludes1 notes
  3. 3 Excludes2 entries — those conditions are not part of this code and may be reported additionally when documented. See the Excludes2 notes

Checklist rows are derived from this code's own official directives; the wording of each check is MedCoder editorial. The official notes themselves are in the sections each row links to.

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 M70.10 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 2 Excludes1 notes: M65 — Synovitis and tenosynovitis (via M70.-), M71 — Other bursopathies (via M70.-).

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

Referenced by 2 Excludes2 notes: M76 — Enthesopathies, lower limb, excluding foot (via M70.-), M77 — Other enthesopathies (via M70.-).

These codes’ tabular lists name this diagnosis as distinct — both may be reported when both are documented.

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 557 (MDC 08), DRG 558 (MDC 08).

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

Clinical classification (AHRQ CCSR):MUS025 — Other specified connective tissue disease (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 condition, opposite side

Same category and title, differing only in which side of the body is affected.

M70.11 — Bursitis, right hand (right)Compare M70.10 vs M70.11 →, M70.12 — Bursitis, left hand (left)Compare M70.10 vs M70.12 →

Same clinical category (CCSR)

AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software groups these diagnoses under the same clinical category (Other specified connective tissue disease).

+304 more

Same Index main term, other category

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

M06.20 — Rheumatoid bursitis, unspecified site (rheumatoid), M06.21 — Rheumatoid bursitis, shoulder (rheumatoid, shoulder), M06.22 — Rheumatoid bursitis, elbow (rheumatoid, elbow), M06.23 — Rheumatoid bursitis, wrist (rheumatoid, wrist), M06.24 — Rheumatoid bursitis, hand (rheumatoid, hand joint), M06.25 — Rheumatoid bursitis, hip (rheumatoid, hip), M06.26 — Rheumatoid bursitis, knee (rheumatoid, knee), M06.27 — Rheumatoid bursitis, ankle and foot (rheumatoid, ankle), M06.28 — Rheumatoid bursitis, vertebrae (rheumatoid, vertebra), M06.29 — Rheumatoid bursitis, multiple sites (rheumatoid, multiple site), M71.10 — Other infective bursitis, unspecified site (infective NEC), M71.11 — Other infective bursitis, shoulder (infective NEC, shoulder), M71.12 — Other infective bursitis, elbow (infective NEC, elbow), M71.13 — Other infective bursitis, wrist (infective NEC, wrist), M71.14 — Other infective bursitis, hand (infective NEC, hand), M71.15 — Other infective bursitis, hip (infective NEC, hip), M71.16 — Other infective bursitis, knee (infective NEC, knee), M71.17 — Other infective bursitis, ankle and foot (infective NEC, foot), M71.18 — Other infective bursitis, other site (infective NEC, specified site NEC), M71.19 — Other infective bursitis, multiple sites (infective NEC, multiple sites), +16 more

Contextual Map

Every relationship of M70.10 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 M70.10 with these 4 related codes in Claim Check

Hierarchy

Referenced by Excludes1 notes

  • M65 — Synovitis and tenosynovitis[Excludes1](via M70.-): “soft tissue disorders related to use, overuse and pressure (M70.-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026
  • M71 — Other bursopathies[Excludes1](via M70.-): “bursitis related to use, overuse or pressure (M70.-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026

Referenced by Excludes2 notes

Clinical classification (CCSR)

MS-DRG Grouper

MDC crossing

  • MDC 08 — Diseases and Disorders of the Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue[MDC crossing]: “Diseases and Disorders of the Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue — 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. 18,508 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
    Bursitis, unspecified hand

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 M70.10 in its code family, with their registry titles.

View all codes in the M70 family