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R13 ICD-10-CM Code: Aphagia and dysphagia

Billing Status: NO. This is a clinician non-billable / parent hierarchy grouping in the ICD-10-CM system.

Coding at a Glance

Tabular directives
9 Excludes2

Coding instructions

Official Tabular Instructional Notes: the inclusion, exclusion and sequencing notes published for R13 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 R13 itself; “inherited from” names the category or block whose note applies here.

Excludes2 — Not Included Here

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

Source: inherited from R10-R19

Coder workflow for R13

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

Before you code R13

  1. R13 is not reportable as written. Select the more specific code beneath it that the documentation supports. Codes are reported to the highest level of specificity the classification provides (Guidelines I.B.2).

    ReviewR13.0, R13.1

    See the relationships section · Guide: How to choose an ICD-10-CM code →

  2. Check whether an established diagnosis that explains this sign or symptom is documented. If one is, review whether the documented diagnosis changes the coding pathway: a symptom that is integral to a confirmed diagnosis is not reported separately, while one not routinely associated with it may be. Signs and symptoms are reported when no definitive diagnosis is established (Guidelines I.B.4, I.B.5, I.B.6, I.C.18.b).

    Guide: Symptom code vs confirmed diagnosis →

Choose the right path

  1. Does the documentation support one of the more specific codes beneath R13?
    Yes → Select that code and continue the checks below on its own page.
    No → R13 cannot be reported as written; query for the specificity its subcategory needs.

    ReviewR13.0, R13.1

  2. Is an established diagnosis that explains this sign or symptom documented?
    Yes → Review whether the documented diagnosis changes the coding pathway: a symptom integral to it is not reported separately.
    No → Continue — the sign or symptom code stands when no definitive diagnosis is established.

Consider R13. 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).

Official instructions as workflow

  • Excludes2 — not part of R13(9 notes)

    Coding workflow: The conditions named in this note are not included in R13. When the record documents both, both may be reported; the note is a boundary, not a prohibition.

    CompareQ40.0, K56, P76, K31.3, N94

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

Coding decision scenarios

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

Documentation: The sign or symptom is documented, and the same record establishes a diagnosis that routinely includes it.

Coding question: Is R13 reported in addition to the diagnosis?

Path: Review the documented diagnosis and whether the classification treats this finding as integral to it.

Reason: Signs and symptoms integral to a confirmed diagnosis are not coded separately; those not routinely associated with it may be reported when present (Guidelines I.B.5, I.B.6, I.C.18.b).

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

Aphagia and dysphagia is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (R13). A more specific billable subcode must be selected for claims submission.

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

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

Contextual Map

Every relationship of R13 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 R13 with these 8 related codes in Claim Check

Hierarchy

Excludes2 (24)

Nearest codes

Change history

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

Common coding questions

Can R13 be billed directly?

No. R13 (Aphagia and dysphagia) is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code. A more specific billable subcode must be selected based on clinical documentation.

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
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. "R13 — Aphagia and dysphagia." ICD-10-CM FY2026. https://medcoder.ai/icd10/code/r13-aphagia-and-dysphagia

Change history

  • FY2016 — October 1, 2015
    In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption
    Aphagia and dysphagia

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 R13 in its code family, with their registry titles.