Fact · Accessibility and health
When both sides are treated in separate encounters, the official guidelines still use the bilateral code, because the condition still exists on both sides.
Checked against its source on October 17, 2026
In the source's own words
“as the condition still exists on both sides”
ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting FY 2027, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (CMS and CDC NCHS), 2026, Section I.B.13, Laterality.
Open the original- What it measures
- The guidelines give cataract surgery on each eye as the example. The bilateral code applies at the first encounter, and a one-sided code applies only after one side has been fully treated.
- What it does not show
- The guidelines use cataract surgery as the example. The same logic applies to other bilateral conditions with a bilateral code, as stated in the rule.