In simple words: This code refers to problems caused by using drugs that affect how you think, feel, and act.It's used when the specific drug isn't covered by another code, or when someone is using multiple substances at the same time.

Other psychoactive substance–related disorders refer to disorders caused by intake of illegal or prescribed psychoactive or psychotropic drugs that affect an individual's mental capacity and/or affect. This code is used when a psychoactive substance not represented by another code is documented, or when combined (polysubstance) or nonselective (indiscriminate) drug use is documented.

Example 1: A patient is admitted to the hospital for altered mental status.Urine drug screen is positive for multiple substances, including cocaine and amphetamines, and no single substance is identified as the primary cause of the altered mental status. F19 is used., A patient with a history of polysubstance abuse presents to the emergency department with hallucinations and paranoia. The patient reports using "whatever I could get my hands on," including alcohol, marijuana, and prescription pills.F19 is used to document the unspecified polysubstance abuse., A patient is treated in an outpatient setting for substance use disorder. They admit to using a combination of prescription drugs not prescribed to them and over-the-counter medications to achieve a "high." This pattern of indiscriminate drug use is documented with F19.

Documentation should include the type of substances used, the severity of the disorder, whether there are any complications, and the remission status.