Hematuria is the presence of red blood cells in the urine. It is one of the most frequent conditions warranting referral to urology. The more specific the coding is, the better for you. But, when you code for hematuria, you’ll encounter very few codes which are specific and this can get confusing at times. The chances were, so far, not so bright to get your reimbursement, but with the updates, it’ll get easy for you to code for specific conditions.


The new ICD-9 codes replace the only code for hematuria – 599.7. These new ICD-9 codes for hematuria, or blood in the urine that will provide more specificity than the current code, are:


• 599.70 - hematuria, unspecified

• 599.71 - Gross hematuria. A patient has gross hematuria when blood is visible to the naked eye on urination. The urine is red or brownish-red when a patient has gross hematuria.

• 599.72 - Microscopic hematuria. A patient has microscopic hematuria when there is no blood visible to the naked eye on urination but blood appears on a urinalysis.


Urology coders will frequently use these new diagnostic codes to properly characterize the degree or severity of the hematuria. The biggest diagnosis change for the group will be gross hematuria versus microscopic. These new additions will ease the way you code for hematuria.


The new ICD-9 changes are very good for you, because the words ‘benign’ and ‘essential’ have been deleted. Usually, you’ll be unable to understand if the hematuria is benign and/or essential until after the complete workup, so ‘hematuria, unspecified’ is much better. The changes will ensure you get your reimbursement – every time.


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