DSM-ICD Coding Crosswalk

Unlike the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition and Third Edition, Revised (DSM-III and DSM-III-R), all of the diagnostic codes in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition and Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV and DSM-IV-TR) were selected so as to be valid International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Edition, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes. However, since minor revisions are made to the ICD-9-CM system on a yearly basis (with changes becoming mandatory each January 1st), subsequent printings of DSM-IV-TR have incorporated the few minor changes in ICD-9-CM codes that have occurred since October 2000.  Click here for a list of coding changes in DSM-IV-TR that have taken effect since October 2000.

Although all diagnostic codes listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) are legal and valid ICD-9-CM codes, there are still enough small technical differences between the two systems to have justified the publication of “DSM-IV Crosswalk: Guidelines for Coding Mental Health Information”, published by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) in 1999. One difference has to do with the order in which the codes are listed on the medical record (see below). Other differences have to do with the fact that coders working in hospital settings generally use the ICD-9-CM Alphabetical Index in order to find the diagnostic codes that correspond to diagnoses noted on the medical chart rather than DSM-IV-TR itself. For technical reasons, in some cases coders can end up with different diagnostic codes than had they looked up the code in DSM-IV-TR. Note that although there are differences, in both cases the submitted codes are valid and will meet HIPAA requirements.

To read more about differences between DSM-IV-TR codes and ICD-9-CM codes, please click the links below: