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W56.49XA ICD-10-CM Code: Other contact with shark, initial encounter

Compare with another code for W56.49XACheck this code on a claim

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

Coding at a Glance

7th character
Required — see the character table on this page
Tabular directives
2 Excludes1

Billable · FY2027A valid, specific ICD-10-CM code, reportable for dates of service in FY2027.

What you need to know

Source: CMS/NCHS Official ICD-10-CM tabular notes, quoted. From the CMS/NCHS tabular list for the release in force. A note the category or block publishes applies to this code too; the Instructions section marks which is which.

Excludes1Never report with this code
  • contact with venomous marine animal (T63.-)
  • Toxic effect of contact with venomous animals and plants (T63.-)

Where it sits Source: CMS/NCHS

Under:Chapter 20: External Causes of MorbidityV00-X58 AccidentsW00-X58 Other external causes of accidental injuryW50-W64 Exposure to animate mechanical forcesW56 Contact with nonvenomous marine animalW56.4 Contact with sharkW56.49 Other contact with shark

Most relevant related codes MedCoder-derived

Read off the official notes above and this code’s own position in the tabular list. Which to report is a documentation question; Compare shows the two side by side.

CompareCheck ClaimView Related Codes

Coding instructions

Official Tabular Instructional Notes: the inclusion, exclusion and sequencing notes published for W56.49XA 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 W56.49XA 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).

7th Character Guide

"The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category W56"

  • A — initial encounter (this page’s code)
  • D — subsequent encounter
  • S — sequela

How the encounter character is assigned. “Initial encounter” means the patient is receiving active treatment for the condition — it is not limited to the first visit, and a different or new provider giving active treatment still assigns it. “Subsequent encounter” covers care during the healing or recovery phase after active treatment. “Sequela” is for complications or conditions that arise as a direct result of the original condition.

ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting, Section I.C.19.a (paraphrased by MedCoder).

Variant codes in this family

W56.49XA, W56.49XD, W56.49XS

Character meanings are CMS's official 7th-character extensions for this family, as carried in each variant code's official description; variant codes are registry rows. The explanation of how the encounter character is assigned is MedCoder editorial, distinct from the official content above it.

Coder workflow for W56.49XA

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

Before you code W56.49XA

  1. “Other” (NEC) means the condition is specified in the record but no dedicated code captures it. Confirm the documented form is not one a sibling code names before settling on W56.49XA; if the record states no specifics at all, the unspecified sibling applies instead. “Other” codes are for documented conditions the classification gives no specific code; “unspecified” codes are for records lacking the detail (Guidelines I.A.9.a, I.A.9.b).

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

  2. A 7th character is required in this family. Confirm the documented encounter: initial (active treatment), subsequent (healing or recovery phase), or sequela. This page’s code carries “A”. “Initial” means active treatment, not the first visit (Guidelines I.C.19.a).

    See the 7th Character Guide · Guide: 7th characters: initial, subsequent, sequela →

  3. An external cause code is reported in addition to the code for the injury or condition, never as the principal or first-listed diagnosis. Confirm the cause, intent, place of occurrence, activity and status where the record documents them, and assign the 7th character that matches the injury code. External cause coding guidelines (Guidelines I.C.20.a).

  4. Check the Excludes1 note: if the documentation supports a condition named there, do not simply proceed with W56.49XA. 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 documentation support a condition named in W56.49XA’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.

    ReviewT63

  2. Is the encounter phase documented — active treatment, healing or recovery, or a sequela?
    Yes → Assign the matching 7th character; the variant codes are in the 7th Character Guide.
    No → The code is invalid without its 7th character — query for the missing element.

Consider W56.49XA. 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).
Encounter type
Active treatment, healing or recovery phase, or sequela — the basis of the 7th character (Guidelines I.C.19.a).
The associated condition or complication
Whether the associated condition the title names is documented; the “with” convention presumes some links, and a provider statement that the conditions are unrelated defeats it (Guidelines I.A.15).
Any detail beyond this code’s title
What the record states that a more specific code would capture — or its absence, which itself supports the unspecified code.

Official instructions as workflow

  • Excludes1 — check before selecting W56.49XA(2 notes)

    Coding workflow: If the documentation supports a condition named in this note, do not simply proceed with W56.49XA: the two are not reported together. The one exception is when the record shows the two conditions are unrelated to each other.

    CompareT63

    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: Both the condition W56.49XA 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).

ReviewT63

Documentation: The patient returns during the healing or recovery phase after active treatment of the same condition.

Coding question: Which 7th character applies?

Path: Review the official 7th-character definitions for this family in the 7th Character Guide.

Reason: “Initial encounter” means active treatment, not the first visit; care during recovery takes “subsequent encounter”, and a complication arising from the original condition takes “sequela” (Guidelines I.C.19.a).

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 W56.49XA with…

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

The codes most likely to be picked instead of W56.49XA — 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.

  • T63— 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 contact with venomous marine animal moves the case to T63; the two are not reported together unless documented as unrelated.

    Full comparison: W56.49XA vs T63 →

  • W56.49XD— Encounter relationship (Review)

    Same underlying diagnosis, different encounter phase.

    The same diagnosis at a different phase of care; one encounter takes one 7th character.

    What moves you there: Documentation of a subsequent encounter moves the case to W56.49XD.

    Full comparison: W56.49XA vs W56.49XD →

  • W56.49XS— Encounter relationship (Review)

    Same underlying diagnosis, different encounter phase.

    The same diagnosis at a different phase of care; one encounter takes one 7th character.

    What moves you there: Documentation of a sequela moves the case to W56.49XS.

    Full comparison: W56.49XA vs W56.49XS →

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.

Coding context

Guidelines, coding notes, decision aids, relationships (with MS-DRG and CCSR classification), hierarchy, HCC, coverage and the context map: what a coder reaches for after the core. Each section names whether it is official source data, a MedCoder-derived relationship or MedCoder editorial.

Code Overview

Other contact with shark, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (W56.49XA).

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

  • Principal-diagnosis restriction. External cause of morbidity codes (V, W, X and Y) describe the circumstance that caused an injury, not the condition treated. The Medicare Code Editor rejects them as a principal diagnosis; sequence the injury or condition first and report this code as secondary.

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-derived relationships — computed from published CMS and AHRQ datasets

Other codes that name W56.49XA 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 28 Excludes1 notes: W20 — Struck by thrown, projected or falling object (via W56.-), W20-W49 — Exposure to inanimate mechanical forces (W20-W49) (via W56.-), W21 — Striking against or struck by sports equipment (via W56.-), W22 — Striking against or struck by other objects (via W56.-), W23 — Caught, crushed, jammed or pinched in or between objects (via W56.-), W24 — Contact with lifting and transmission devices, not elsewhere classified (via W56.-), W25 — Contact with sharp glass (via W56.-), W26 — Contact with other sharp objects (via W56.-), W27 — Contact with nonpowered hand tool (via W56.-), W28 — Contact with powered lawn mower (via W56.-), W29 — Contact with other powered hand tools and household machinery (via W56.-), W30 — Contact with agricultural machinery (via W56.-), W31 — Contact with other and unspecified machinery (via W56.-), W32 — Accidental handgun discharge and malfunction (via W56.-), W33 — Accidental rifle, shotgun and larger firearm discharge and malfunction (via W56.-), W34 — Accidental discharge and malfunction from other and unspecified firearms and guns (via W56.-), W35 — Explosion and rupture of boiler (via W56.-), W36 — Explosion and rupture of gas cylinder (via W56.-), W37 — Explosion and rupture of pressurized tire, pipe or hose (via W56.-), W38 — Explosion and rupture of other specified pressurized devices (via W56.-), +8 more.

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

Clinical classification (AHRQ CCSR):EXT011 — External cause codes: natural/environment; initial encounter; EXT020 — External cause codes: intent of injury, accidental/unintentional.

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 categories (External cause codes: natural/environment; initial encounter, External cause codes: intent of injury, accidental/unintentional).

W55.89XA — Other contact with other mammals, initial encounter, W56.02XA — Struck by dolphin, initial encounter, W56.09XA — Other contact with dolphin, initial encounter, W56.12XA — Struck by sea lion, initial encounter, W56.19XA — Other contact with sea lion, initial encounter, W56.22XA — Struck by orca, initial encounter, W56.29XA — Other contact with orca, initial encounter, W56.32XA — Struck by other marine mammals, initial encounter, W56.39XA — Other contact with other marine mammals, initial encounter, W56.42XA — Struck by shark, initial encounter, W56.52XA — Struck by other fish, initial encounter, W56.59XA — Other contact with other fish, initial encounter, W56.82XA — Struck by other nonvenomous marine animals, initial encounter, W56.89XA — Other contact with other nonvenomous marine animals, initial encounter, W58.02XA — Struck by alligator, initial encounter, W58.03XA — Crushed by alligator, initial encounter, W58.09XA — Other contact with alligator, initial encounter, W58.12XA — Struck by crocodile, initial encounter, W58.13XA — Crushed by crocodile, initial encounter, W58.19XA — Other contact with crocodile, initial encounter, +2297 more

Contextual Map

Every relationship of W56.49XA 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 W56.49XA with these 8 related codes in Claim Check

Hierarchy

Referenced by Excludes1 notes (28)

Clinical classification (CCSR)

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

Reference

Index terms and tables, published questions and FAQ, every source behind this page with its release and checksum, the date-of-service check and the complete change history.

Common coding questions

MedCoder editorial

Does W56.49XA require a 7th character?

Yes. The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category W56.

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
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-derived 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 editorial 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.

Current data releases:ICD-10-CM FY2027 · ICD-10-PCS FY2027 · HCPCS October 2026 · MS-DRG v44 · Medicare Code Editor v44.0 · NCCI PTP Q4 2026 · MUE Q4 2026 · NCD code lists 2026-01 · LCD export September 28, 2026 · All releases and sources

Labels on this page: Official source data · MedCoder-derived relationship · MedCoder editorial explanation. How to read the labels · All data sources and release dates · CMS coding rules

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. "W56.49XA — Other contact with shark, initial encounter." ICD-10-CM FY2027. https://medcoder.ai/icd10/code/w56.49xa-other-contact-with-shark-initial-encounter

Change history

  • FY2016 — October 1, 2015
    In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption
    Other contact with shark, initial encounter

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 W56.49XA in its code family, with their registry titles.

View all codes in the W56 family