Gastrointestinal (GI) Condition with Bleeding

Gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is not a disease but a symptom of a disorder in a person’s digestive tract. There are many possibilities that may cause GI bleeding, including hemorrhoids, peptic ulcers, diverticulosis/diverticulitis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, colonic polyps, or gastritis (just to name a few examples). Per ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting Section I.A.15 “With” guideline, it is safe to presume a causal relationship between two conditions when it is linked by the term “with” or “in” when it appears in a code title. In that case, when a provider documents that a patient has one of the previously mentioned conditions (among other conditions) and GI bleeding, then it is appropriate to assume a relationship between the disorder and bleeding. The ONLY time it is not acceptable is when documentation clearly states that the conditions are unrelated or if the physician documents a different cause of the bleeding.