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M79.9 ICD-10-CM Code: Soft tissue disorder, unspecified

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

Coding at a Glance

Tabular directives
2 Excludes1

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 v44, Appendix B.

  • MS-DRG 555 — SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF MUSCULOSKELETAL SYSTEM AND CONNECTIVE TISSUE WITH MCC (MDC 08)
  • MS-DRG 556 — SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF MUSCULOSKELETAL SYSTEM AND CONNECTIVE TISSUE 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 M79.9 in the official ICD-10-CM tabular list, quoted as published.

Source: CMS/CDC — ICD-10-CM Tabular ListRelease: FY2027Effective: October 1, 2026

Trace:FY2027 changesChange historyRelease, file and checksum

Notes without a marker are published on M79.9 itself; “inherited from” names the category or block whose note applies here.

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 M79

Coder workflow for M79.9

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

Before you code M79.9

  1. Unspecified does not mean incorrect. When the record gives no greater specificity, M79.9 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).

    ReviewM79.7, M79.8, M79.A

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

  2. Check the Excludes1 note: if the documentation supports a condition named there, do not simply proceed with M79.9. 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 — M79.9 is appropriate when the documentation goes no further.

    ReviewM79.7, M79.8, M79.A

  2. Does the documentation support a condition named in M79.9’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.

    ReviewF45.8, F45.41

Consider M79.9. 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).
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 M79.9(2 notes)

    Coding workflow: If the documentation supports a condition named in this note, do not simply proceed with M79.9: the two are not reported together. The one exception is when the record shows the two conditions are unrelated to each other.

    CompareF45.8, F45.41

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

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).

ReviewM79.7, M79.8, M79.A

Documentation: Both the condition M79.9 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).

ReviewF45.8, F45.41

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.

Don’t confuse M79.9 with…

MedCoder analysis — pairs from this code’s official notes, distinctions written by MedCoder

The codes most likely to be picked instead of M79.9 — named in its own official notes, or sharing its laterality or encounter family — with what separates them and which documentation moves the case. Each links to the full comparison.

  • F45.8— Excludes1 conflict (Excludes1 — generally not reported together)

    Not coded here — the tabular list excludes this pair for the same encounter.

    Not reported together with this code, except where the two conditions are documented as unrelated.

    What moves you there: Documentation of psychogenic rheumatism moves the case to F45.8; the two are not reported together unless documented as unrelated.

    Full comparison: M79.9 vs F45.8 →

  • F45.41— Excludes1 conflict (Excludes1 — generally not reported together)

    Not coded here — the tabular list excludes this pair for the same encounter.

    Not reported together with this code, except where the two conditions are documented as unrelated.

    What moves you there: Documentation of soft tissue pain, psychogenic moves the case to F45.41; the two are not reported together unless documented as unrelated.

    Full comparison: M79.9 vs F45.41 →

Relationships are read from this code's own official notes, its laterality siblings and its encounter family; the wording of each distinction is MedCoder editorial, and the documentation named in each “what moves you there” line is the official note phrase or sibling title itself. Source: CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes; ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a.

Code Overview

Soft tissue disorder, unspecified is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (M79.9).

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

Indexed Clinical Terms (11)

Official source data — entries quoted as published, in the Index’s own lookup phrasing

Clinical term phrases from the official ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries that map to this code. These are alphabetic-index entries shown as the Index writes them — lookup phrasing, not necessarily the wording of a final diagnosis.

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

MS-DRG Grouper Relationships (FY2027)

Potential MS-DRG participation — not a DRG assignment.

FY2027 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 555 (MDC 08), DRG 556 (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 clinical category (CCSR)

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

+304 more

Contextual Map

Every relationship of M79.9 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.

Hierarchy

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. 18,439 same-MDC procedures group here; browse them on the MDC page.”— CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual · FY2027

Index entries (11)

  • Disorder (of), soft tissue[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Disorder (of), soft tissue, ankle[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Disorder (of), soft tissue, foot[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Disorder (of), soft tissue, forearm[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Disorder (of), soft tissue, hand[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Disorder (of), soft tissue, lower leg[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Disorder (of), soft tissue, multiple sites[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Disorder (of), soft tissue, pelvic region[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • and 3 more

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 FY2027 tabular list, index and tables, effective October 1, 2026 Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Claim edits Official source data
CMS Definitions of Medicare Code Edits — v44.0 (October 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 — v44 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

Cite this page

Reference this page in a research guide, syllabus or article. The release is included because code content changes each year.

MedCoder.ai. "M79.9 — Soft tissue disorder, unspecified." ICD-10-CM FY2027. https://medcoder.ai/icd10/code/m79.9-soft-tissue-disorder-unspecified

Change history

  • FY2016 — October 1, 2015
    In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption
    Soft tissue disorder, unspecified

No changes since FY2016 — additions, deletions, description changes and billable-status changes are tracked through FY2027, 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 M79.9 in its code family, with their registry titles.

View all codes in the M79 family