As lawyers regularly representing community banks, we are frequently reminded of the level of regulatory scrutiny and intrusion experienced by the industry, and at times the almost laughable results of strained regulatory interpretations.  However, I think our health care lawyer colleagues may have us beat.

As explained in this Bryan Cave client alert on the Regulatory Guidance and Legal Implications Associated with the Transition to ICD-10, physicians and other health care providers are required to use an official system of assigning codes to diagnoses in the United States for billing and record keeping of health care services.  Effective October 1, 2015, the ICD-10 code set replaced the former ICD-9 code set.  The ICD-10 set includes over 68,000 diagnoses, and to say they are expansive and detailed significantly understates any rational interpretation of those concepts.

Here are a few examples of actual ICD-10 codes that are now available to physicians today:

• Struck By Turtle (W59.22XA)
• Spacecraft collision injuring occupant (V95.43XS)
• Swimming pool of prison as the place of occurrence of the external cause (Y92.146)
• Pecked by chicken, initial encounter (W61.33XA)
• Burn due to water-skis on fire, initial encounter (V91.07XA)
• Art gallery as the place of occurrence of the external cause (Y92.250)
• Opera house as the place of occurrence of the external cause (Y92.253)
• Problems in relationship with in-laws (Z63.1)

I’m not sure what you’re supposed to report if the patient is struck by a turtle thrown by an in-law, but please reach out to us if you have a bank regulatory question.