To get more insight into the usage and trends of the behavioral health community in 2021, we identified the most common ICD-10 codes in 2022 used by SimplePractice clinicians.
This data on the most frequently used ICD-10 codes is pulled from SimplePractice clinicians who have billed health insurance providers over the past calendar year, so this report represents common diagnostic codes used by solo or small group providers in the behavioral health space across the United States.
What Are ICD Codes Used For?
ICD codes are International Classification of Disease codes. They’re used to describe a diagnosis when billing insurance.
ICD codes were developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), and are used across the medical field to describe a huge variety of conditions.
In addition to being used to bill for healthcare services, they’re also a way to identify health and disease trends across countries using a standard diagnostic language.
Top Billed ICD-10 Diagnosis Codes List
This ICD codes list shows the most frequently billed ICD-10 codes used for mental health conditions diagnosed in 2022.
Perhaps it’s not surprising that the most used ICD-10 code for anxiety in America was for F41.1—generalized anxiety disorder.
This continues trends seen in the top billed codes in 2019 and even back in 2017 as well.
Rank | Code | Diagnosis |
1 | F41.1 | Generalized anxiety disorder |
2 | F43.23 | Adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressive mood |
3 | F33.1 | Major depressive disorder, recurrent, moderate |
4 | F43.22 | Adjustment disorder with anxiety |
5 | F43.20 | Adjustment disorder, unspecified |
6 | F41.9 | Anxiety disorder, unspecified |
7 | F43.10 | Post traumatic stress disorder, unspecified |
8 | F43.21 | Adjustment disorder with depressed mood |
9 | F43.12 | Post traumatic stress disorder, chronic |
10 | Z63.0 | Problem in relationship with spouse or partner |
11 | F33.0 | Major depressive disorder, recurrent, mild |
12 | F90.2 | Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, combined type |
13 | F32.1 | Major depressive disorder, single episode, moderate |
14 | F34.1 | Dysthymic disorder |
15 | F90.0 | Attention-deficit disorder, predominantly inattentive type |
16 | F33.2 | Major depressive disorder, recurrent, without psychotic features |
17 | F32.0 | Major depressive disorder, single episode, mild |
18 | F43.25 | Adjustment disorder with mixed disturbance of emotions and conduct |
19 | F41.0 | Panic disorder (episodic paroxysmal anxiety) |
20 | F84.0 | Autistic disorder |
Top Diagnoses Categories
To get a better understanding of the top mental health diagnoses made in 2022, we took the 20 ICD codes in 2022 listed above and rolled them up into 4 corresponding categories, as shown below.
Rank | Category | % of total diagnoses |
1 | Adjustment disorders | 20% |
2 | Major depressive disorders | 20% |
3 | PTSD | 8% |
4 | Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders | 8% |
Changes to ICD Codes in 2022
On January 1, 2022, the ICD-10 updated to the ICD-11, as mandated by the WHO.
The ICD-11 reflects advances in science and medicine, and aligns classifications with the latest knowledge of disease prevention and treatment. Some notable changes in the ICD-11 include:
- New core chapters for “diseases of the immune system,” “sleep-wake disorders,” and “conditions related to sexual health.”
- Overall coding improvements to allow more precise data collection, including new codes for antimicrobial resistance, specific coding for clinical stages of HIV, codes for common skin cancers, and more.
- Improved ease of coding requires less user-training, and new availability for online and offline functioning
To learn more about the updates to ICD-11, you can visit the WHO’s website dedicated to the update, where you’ll find more resources on the changes and how to implement them in your practice.
When Do You Have to Actually Start Using ICD-11?
There’s often a delay between when ICD updates are published and when they actually start being used, and the ICD-11 is no exception.
Although the updates officially became available to member states of the WHO as of January 1, 2022, the US doesn’t have an official implementation plan for rollout, and they may not be implemented until 2025.
It’s up to each country to make the shift, and it’ll take some time for the US to update from the ICD-10.
How the ICD Updates Impact Your Practice
Since ICD codes are used across multiple healthcare fields, there’ll probably be a lot of codes in each update that don’t apply to your billing.
That said, you do want to review the annual updates carefully—if you use a deleted code that’s no longer recognized, or try to use an old version of a code, the reimbursement for that service may be denied.
If you have a list of the previous codes that you use frequently in your practice, you can use the “Search” Function in documents from CMS to only look directly for what you need. That way you can quickly determine what changes, if any, have been made to your most regularly used codes and make the necessary adjustments to your billing documents.
The world of insurance billing can get complicated pretty quickly. To avoid getting stuck in endless billing conversations, set aside a block of time to go through all the new information thoroughly, and get all the relevant information. This will help you to become confident your billing is set up correctly, so you can spend more time with your clients, and less on billing.