Fact · Accessibility and health
When the medical record does not identify the side, the official guidelines say to assign the code for the unspecified side.
Checked against its source on October 17, 2026
In the source's own words
“If the side is not identified in the medical record, assign the code for the unspecified side.”
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
- This is the reason carpal tunnel syndrome has an unspecified code, G56.00, next to the right, left and bilateral codes. A diagnosis written without a side is coded to G56.00.
- What it does not show
- The code follows what the record says. A clinician who records the side allows a more specific code.