2025 ICD-10-CM code F98
Other behavioral and emotional disorders with onset usually occurring in childhood and adolescence. This category encompasses conditions such as unexplained incontinence, eating disorders, movement disorders, and fluency disorders not classified elsewhere.
Medical necessity must be established for any services provided. The documentation should support the diagnosis and demonstrate how the symptoms significantly impair the patient's functioning in daily life. The treatment plan should address these impairments and aim to improve the patient's overall well-being.
Clinicians diagnose these disorders based on the patient's history, signs, symptoms, a physical exam, a psychiatric evaluation, and interviews with family or others. Diagnostic studies may be ordered to rule out physiological causes.
- Mental, Behavioral and Neurodevelopmental disorders (F01-F99)
- Behavioral and emotional disorders with onset usually occurring in childhood and adolescence (F90-F98)
In simple words: This code is used for various emotional and behavioral problems that usually begin during childhood or adolescence.These problems can include things like bedwetting or soiling, unusual eating habits, repetitive movements, or speech difficulties like stuttering. Doctors diagnose these conditions by talking with the child and family, observing their behavior, and performing exams to rule out other medical causes.
This code represents a range of behavioral and emotional disorders typically originating in childhood or adolescence.Examples include enuresis (involuntary urination), encopresis (involuntary defecation), feeding disorders (pica, rumination), stereotyped movement disorders, and fluency disorders (stuttering).These disorders are diagnosed based on patient history, symptoms, physical and psychiatric examinations, and may involve interviews with family members.The code excludes conditions like breath-holding spells (R06.89), gender identity disorder of childhood (F64.2), Kleine-Levin syndrome (G47.13), obsessive-compulsive disorder (F42.-), and sleep disorders (F51.-).
Example 1: A 7-year-old child consistently wets the bed at night despite no underlying medical condition. This would be coded as F98.0 (Enuresis not due to a substance or known physiological condition)., A 5-year-old child has been regularly soiling their clothes for the past six months, with no identified physical cause. This would be coded as F98.1 (Encopresis not due to a substance or known physiological condition)., A 10-year-old child exhibits repetitive, non-functional hand flapping and rocking, causing social impairment.This could be coded as F98.4 (Stereotyped movement disorders).
Documentation should include a detailed history, including the onset, frequency, and severity of symptoms. Physical and psychological examinations should be documented, as well as any diagnostic tests performed to rule out organic causes. Information from family members or caregivers may also be relevant.The specific subtype of F98 used should be clearly supported by the documentation.
** It is important to distinguish F98 from other similar conditions with different etiologies. Conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (F42.-) or sleep disorders (F51.-) have their own specific codes and should not be coded under F98.
- Specialties:Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Psychology
- Place of Service:Office, Inpatient Hospital, Outpatient Hospital, Psychiatric Facility-Partial Hospitalization, Community Mental Health Center, Psychiatric Residential Treatment Center