R29.713 ICD-10-CM Code: NIHSS score 13
Billing Status: YES. This is a valid, specific, and billable ICD-10-CM reference.
Coding at a Glance
- Tabular directives
- 1 code-first instruction
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 951 — OTHER FACTORS INFLUENCING HEALTH STATUS (MDC 23)
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 R29.713 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 R29.713 itself; “inherited from” names the category or block whose note applies here.
This page already reflects the FY2027 tabular note taking effect October 1, 2026.
Coder workflow for R29.713
MedCoder structured workflow — derived from this code’s own official record
Before you code R29.713
- 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).
Choose the right path
- 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. - Is the underlying (etiologic) condition the Code First note names documented?
Yes → Sequence the underlying condition first, then R29.713.
No → Continue; do not add an underlying condition the record does not document.
Consider R29.713. 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).
- The underlying (etiologic) condition
- Named in the Code First note; sequenced before this code when documented (Guidelines I.A.13).
Official instructions as workflow
Code First — sequencing check(1 note)
Coding workflow: Check whether the underlying or etiologic condition the note names is documented. When it is, sequence it before R29.713. Do not add an underlying condition the record does not document.
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 sign or symptom is documented, and the same record establishes a diagnosis that routinely includes it.
Coding question: Is R29.713 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).
Documentation: The underlying condition the Code First note names is documented alongside this condition.
Coding question: How are the two sequenced?
Path: Review the Code First note.
Reason: The underlying condition is sequenced first and the manifestation follows (Guidelines I.A.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
MedCoder summary Summary composed by MedCoder from this code's official ICD-10-CM record. The tabular instructional notes themselves appear verbatim below.
Official Coding Guidelines
Official source data — quoted verbatim from the CMS/NCHS Official Guidelines
Official source data — quoted verbatim from the CMS/NCHS Official Guidelines
Verbatim excerpts from the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting (CMS/NCHS) that govern this code.
Chapter 18: Symptoms, signs, and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R99)
i. NIHSS Stroke Scale The NIH stroke scale (NIHSS) codes (R29.7- -) can be used in conjunction with acute stroke codes (I60-I63) to identify the patient's neurological status and the severity of the stroke. The stroke scale codes should be sequenced after the acute stroke diagnosis code(s).
Verify Before Coding
- Principal-diagnosis restriction. The Medicare Code Editor lists this code as unacceptable as a principal diagnosis: it describes a circumstance influencing health status rather than a current illness or injury being treated. It is valid as a secondary diagnosis.
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 R29.713 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 4 Use Additional Code instructions: I60 — Nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (via R29.7.-), I61 — Nontraumatic intracerebral hemorrhage (via R29.7.-), I62 — Other and unspecified nontraumatic intracranial hemorrhage (via R29.7.-), I63 — Cerebral infarction (via R29.7.-).
These codes instruct coders to additionally report this code when it applies.
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 1 MS-DRG: DRG 951 (MDC 23).
From the CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (Appendices B and C). Actual DRG assignment depends on the complete claim.
Clinical classification (AHRQ CCSR):CIR020 — Cerebral infarction.
Clinical Classifications Software Refined (CCSR) for ICD-10-CM Diagnoses. Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Related Codes
Principal diagnosis restriction (Medicare Code Editor)
Not acceptable as a principal diagnosis on an inpatient claim.
Same clinical category (CCSR)
AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software groups these diagnoses under the same clinical category (Cerebral infarction).
R29.703 — NIHSS score 3, R29.704 — NIHSS score 4, R29.705 — NIHSS score 5, R29.706 — NIHSS score 6, R29.707 — NIHSS score 7, R29.708 — NIHSS score 8, R29.709 — NIHSS score 9, R29.710 — NIHSS score 10, R29.711 — NIHSS score 11, R29.712 — NIHSS score 12, R29.714 — NIHSS score 14, R29.715 — NIHSS score 15, R29.716 — NIHSS score 16, R29.717 — NIHSS score 17, R29.718 — NIHSS score 18, R29.719 — NIHSS score 19, R29.720 — NIHSS score 20, R29.721 — NIHSS score 21, R29.722 — NIHSS score 22, R29.723 — NIHSS score 23, +122 more
Lab tests where this diagnosis supports Medicare coverage (NCD)
Medicare's National Coverage Determination (NCD) program lists this diagnosis as medical justification for these lab tests.
Blood Glucose Test, HIV Screening Test, Lipid Panel, Partial Thromboplastin Time (PTT) Test, Prothrombin Time Test and INR (PT/INR), Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH)
Contextual Map
Every relationship of R29.713 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 R29.713 with these 4 related codes in Claim Check
Hierarchy
- R00-R99 — Chapter 18: Symptoms, Signs and Abnormal Clinical and Laboratory Findings, Not Elsewhere Classified (R00-R99) (R00-R99)[Hierarchy]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
- R25-R29 — Symptoms and signs involving the nervous and musculoskeletal systems[Hierarchy]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
Referenced by Use Additional Code instructions
- I60 — Nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage[Use Additional Code](via R29.7.-): “code, if known, to indicate National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score (R29.7-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026
- I61 — Nontraumatic intracerebral hemorrhage[Use Additional Code](via R29.7.-): “code, if known, to indicate National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score (R29.7-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026
- I62 — Other and unspecified nontraumatic intracranial hemorrhage[Use Additional Code](via R29.7.-): “code, if known, to indicate National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score (R29.7-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026
- I63 — Cerebral infarction[Use Additional Code](via R29.7.-): “code, if known, to indicate National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score (R29.7-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026
Clinical classification (CCSR)
- CIR020 — Cerebral infarction[CCSR]— AHRQ CCSR for ICD-10-CM Diagnoses (HCUP)
MS-DRG Grouper
- DRG 951 — OTHER FACTORS INFLUENCING HEALTH STATUS[MS-DRG]: “OTHER FACTORS INFLUENCING HEALTH STATUS (MDC 23)”— CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (Appendix B) · FY2026
MDC crossing
- MDC 23 — Factors Influencing Health Status and Other Contacts with Health Services[MDC crossing]: “Factors Influencing Health Status and Other Contacts with Health Services — 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. 1,235 same-MDC procedures group here; browse them on the MDC page.”— CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual · FY2026
Nearest codes (40)
- R29 — Other symptoms and signs involving the nervous and musculoskeletal systems[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
- R29.3 — Abnormal posture[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
- R29.4 — Clicking hip[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
- R29.5 — Transient paralysis[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
- R29.6 — Repeated falls[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
- R29.7 — National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
- R29.70 — NIHSS score 0-9[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
- R29.700 — NIHSS score 0[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
- and 32 more
Change history (3)
- FY2027 — Code First note will be added[Change history]— CMS release files (code change ledger) · icd10cm-fy2027
- and 2 more
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
- Coding guidelines Official source data
- ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting (FY2026), quoted by section 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
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. "R29.713 — NIHSS score 13." ICD-10-CM FY2026. https://medcoder.ai/icd10/code/r29.713-nihss-score-13
Change history
- Upcoming · effective FY2027 — October 1, 2026Code First note will be addedthe type of cerebral infarction (I60.-, I61.-, I62.-, I63.-)FY2027 changes
- Upcoming · effective FY2027 — October 1, 2026Code First note will be removedthe type of cerebral infarction (I63.-)FY2027 changes
- FY2017 — October 1, 2016Added to the code setNIHSS score 13FY2017 changes
Nearest Codes in This Family
Official ICD-10-CM classifications closest to R29.713 in its code family, with their registry titles.