Low vision is a chronic eye disorder that a person cannot treat with glasses, contact lenses, or medical or surgical treatment. It includes varying levels of vision loss, blind spots, poor night vision, and trouble with blindness to almost total loss of vision.nnIt is important to know that blindness and low vision are not the same nnBlindness and low vision are not the same, because limited visibility remains in the latter state. nnEye and vision doctors and optometrists measure low vision by having patients read letters on a visual chart called visual acuity. nnFor an accurate claim submission, ophthalmologists and optometrists are treating his eye condition and can take the help of professional medical billing services. n

Categories of Low Vision 

nThere are two categories of low vision- one is partially sighted and the other one is legally blind. Moreover, partially sighted mentions the visual activity between 20/70 and 20/200 along with conventional prescription lenses. nnOn the other hand legally blind mentions the visual activity no better than 20/200 along with conventional correction or a restricted field of vision less than 20 degrees wide. nnVisual aids can be helpful for people having low vision. Most popular low vision aids include telescopic glasses, lenses that filter light, hand magnifiers, magnifying glasses, and closed-circuit television and reading prisms. nnAs ophthalmologists, we understand that it is difficult to manage billing and coding besides their treatment. This is why, in this blog, we cover the updated ICD-10 codes for low vision and blindness. Just continue reading to know them!nnWhether you do in-house or outsource, it is necessary to know the updated ICD-10 codes for efficient practice performance.  nnBefore we move towards codes, let’s take a look at a new passage in the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting, which contains general instructions for how to code for blindness and low vision.nn“If ‘blindness’ or ‘low vision’ of both eyes is documented but the visual impairment category is not documented, assign code H54.3, Unqualified visual loss, both eyes. nnIf “blindness” or “low vision” in one eye is documented but the visual impairment category is not documented, assign a code from H54.6-, unqualified visual loss, one eye.nn If “blindness” or “visual loss” is documented without any information about whether one or both eyes are affected, assign code H54.7, Unspecified visual loss.”nnWith the help of these guidelines, it is easy for coders to tackle the challenge of both eyes. Blindness and low visions codes are not the same.   When blindness or low vision isn’t bilateral or isn’t the same category for each eye, you should use your new code options to describe them separately. nnThe new codes allow you to signify whether right eye blindness is a different category than left eye blindness. nnTo choose the correct code from this series, first, find the category of the right eye and then choose a subcode based on the category of the left eye. n

H54 ICD-10 Codes to Report Blindness and Low Vision

n

n
• H54 Blindness and low vision

n

• H54.0 Blindness, both eyes

n

• H54.0X Blindness, both eyes, different category levels

n

• H54.0X3 Blindness right eye, category 3

n

• H54.0X33 Blindness right eye category 3, blindness left eye category 3

n

• H54.0X34 Blindness right eye category 3, blindness left eye category 4

n

• H54.0X35 Blindness right eye category 3, blindness left eye category 5

n

• H54.0X4 Blindness right eye, category 4

n

• H54.0X43 Blindness right eye category 4, blindness left eye category 3

n

• H54.0X44 Blindness right eye category 4, blindness left eye category 4

n

• H54.0X45 Blindness right eye category 4, blindness left eye category 5

n

n n

n
• H54.0X5 Blindness right eye, category 5

n

• H54.0X53 Blindness right eye category 5, blindness left eye category 3

n

• H54.0X54 Blindness right eye category 5, blindness left eye category 4

n

• H54.0X55 Blindness right eye category 5, blindness left eye category 5

n

• H54.1 Blindness, one eye, low vision another eye

n

• H54.10 …… unspecified eyes

n

• H54.11 Blindness, right eye, low vision left eye

n

• H54.113 Blindness right eye category 3, low vision left eye

n

• H54.1131 …… category 1

n

• H54.1132 …… category 2

n

• H54.114 Blindness right eye category 4, low vision left eye

n

• H54.1141 …… category 1

n

• H54.1142 …… category 2

n

• H54.115 Blindness right eye category 5, low vision left eye

n

• H54.1151 …… category 1

n

• H54.1152 …… category 2

n

• H54.12 Blindness, left eye, low vision right eye

n

• H54.121 Low vision right eye category 1, blindness left eye

n

• H54.1213 …… category 3

n

• H54.1214 …… category 4

n

• H54.1215 …… category 5

n

• H54.122 Low vision right eye category 2, blindness left eye

n

• H54.1223 …… category 3

n

• H54.1224 …… category 4

n

• H54.1225 …… category 5

n

n n

n
• H54.2 Low vision, both eyes

n

• H54.2X Low vision, both eyes, different category levels

n

• H54.2X1 Low vision, right eye, category 1

n

• H54.2X11 Low vision right eye category 1, low vision left eye category 1

n

• H54.2X12 Low vision right eye category 1, low vision left eye category 2

n

• H54.2X2 Low vision, right eye, category 2

n

• H54.2X21 Low vision right eye category 2, low vision left eye category 1

n

• H54.2X22 Low vision right eye category 2, low vision left eye category 2

n

n n

n
• H54.3 Unqualified visual loss, both eyes

n

• H54.4 Blindness, one eye

n

• H54.40 …… unspecified eye

n

• H54.41 Blindness, right eye, normal vision left eye

n

• H54.413 Blindness, right eye, category 3

n

• H54.413A Blindness right eye category 3, normal vision left eye

n

n n

n
• H54.414 Blindness, right eye, category 4

n

• H54.414A Blindness right eye category 4, normal vision left eye

n

n n

n
• H54.415 Blindness, right eye, category 5

n

• H54.415A Blindness right eye category 5, normal vision left eye

n

n n

n
• H54.42 Blindness, left eye, normal vision right eye

n

• H54.42A Blindness, left eye, category 3-5

n

• H54.42A3 Blindness left eye category 3, normal vision right eye

n

• H54.42A4 Blindness left eye category 4, normal vision right eye

n

• H54.42A5 Blindness left eye category 5, normal vision right eye

n

• H54.5 Low vision, one eye

n

• H54.50 …… unspecified eye

n

• H54.51 Low vision, right eye, normal vision left eye

n

• H54.511 Low vision, right eye, category 1-2

n

• H54.511A Low vision right eye category 1, normal vision left eye

n

• H54.512A Low vision right eye category 2, normal vision left eye

n

• H54.52 Low vision, left eye, normal vision right eye

n

• H54.52A Low vision, left eye, category 1-2

n

• H54.52A1 Low vision left eye category 1, normal vision right eye

n

• H54.52A2 Low vision left eye category 2, normal vision right eye

n

n n

n
• H54.6 Unqualified visual loss, one eye

n

• H54.60 …… unspecified

n

• H54.61 Unqualified visual loss, right eye, normal vision left eye

n

• H54.62 Unqualified visual loss, left eye, normal vision right eye

n

• H54.7 Unspecified visual loss

n

• H54.8 Legal blindness, as defined in the USA

n

nTo avoid claim rejections, the coding and billing staff needs to be very careful in choosing specific codes. If you find difficulty in choosing the right code then outsource your ophthalmology medical coding services to us can be the right solution. With our medical coding services, you can submit medical claims accurately and will receive timely reimbursements. Get our Medical coding services today!