What Is the ICD-10 Code for Aphasia?

Looking for the ICD-10 code for aphasia?

If you are a speech therapist or speech-language pathologist (SLP) supporting clients with aphasia, you’ll need to use the correct aphasia ICD-10 codes for diagnosis, as well as billing and submitting insurance claims.

There are several ICD-10 codes that relate to aphasia, so it’s understandable that you may be wondering which one to use. SimplePractice can help SLPs to document therapy sessions with confidence using the right ICD-10 code every time.

Aphasia is a language disorder that can impair a person’s ability to understand and read language, and cause difficulty speaking. ICD-10 aphasia diagnosis codes are numerous, and you will need to understand their various causes and conditions in order to select the correct ICD-10 code for aphasia.

This article includes aphasia ICD-10 codes as well as information on how to review aphasia diagnostic criteria and identify the proper ICD-10 code for aphasia.

Additionally, we share tips to find the correct ICD-10 code for specific types of aphasia diagnoses and share some other common codes SLPs use.

Like all healthcare professionals, speech-language pathologists must document their services using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10), in order to get reimbursed by insurance.

In the United States, clinicians use the clinical modification, the ICD-10-CM, which was made specifically for American health care billing and record keeping. The World Health Organization (WHO) developed this medical classification list, which includes 68,000 codes. Among these, many relate to speech, language, voice, and hearing disorders.

What is the ICD-10 code for aphasia?

To select the appropriate aphasia ICD-10 code, first, you must understand the source of the aphasia.

Aphasia diagnosis codes are broken down by root cause or condition, so there isn’t a single code that is appropriate for all cases.

Aphasia can be coded under symptoms and signs involving speech and voice as R47.01.

However, this is not the correct ICD-10 code for aphasia due to CVA (cerebrovascular accident), progressive isolated aphasia, or developmental aphasia. SLPs should be aware that R47.01 cannot be listed concurrently with these other codes.

The ICD-10 includes specific codes, detailed below, to use when aphasia follows a cerebrovascular disease, neurological event, or is developmental in nature.

‌

Besides R47.01, the most common codes for aphasia in the ICD-10-CM include:

F80.1: Developmental aphasia, expressive type
F80.2: Developmental aphasia, receptive type or developmental Wernicke's aphasia
G31.01: Primary progressive aphasia or progressive isolated aphasia
I69.020: Aphasia following nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage
I69.120: Aphasia following nontraumatic intracerebral hemorrhage
I69.220: Aphasia following other nontraumatic intracranial hemorrhage
I69.320: Aphasia following cerebral infarction
I69.820: Aphasia following other cerebrovascular disease
I69.920: Aphasia following unspecified cerebrovascular disease

There’s no one-size-fits-all receptive aphasia ICD-10 code or expressive aphasia ICD-10 code. Rather, clinicians must consider the origin of each client’s aphasia.

When aphasia results after a stroke or in tandem with frontotemporal dementia, it cannot be coded with R47.01. SLPs must select the most specific code that describes the patient’s aphasia and related medical diagnosis.

Aphasia diagnostic criteria

Aphasia results from a brain injury or condition that impacts one’s ability to process and/or produce language.

Most often, aphasia occurs in the aftermath of a stroke, but it can also present in patients with brain tumors, dementia, epilepsy, and cerebral hypoxia, among other conditions.

Aphasia may impact spoken language, language comprehension, written expression, and reading. Damage to Broca’s area, located in the left frontal lobe of the brain, impairs expressive language skills, while injury to Wernicke’s area is correlated with language comprehension difficulties.

There are eight main aphasia subtypes. Diagnosis is categorized by these subtypes in addition to considering the patient’s impairment in fluency (spoken language), comprehension, and repetition.

Broca’s aphasia, Wernicke’s aphasia, global aphasia, and conduction aphasia are some of the most common subtypes—but not all cases fit neatly into one category. Also, a client’s clinical presentation may change as they undergo therapy and heal from a brain injury.

Aphasia is diagnosed with a range of assessment tools, including imaging, cognitive tests, and language assessments. SLPs might administer the Western Aphasia Battery-Revised, the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Evaluation-Third Edition, the Boston Naming Test, or the Montreal Cognitive Assessment.

The ICD-10 code for aphasia does not follow the same classification system that speech-language pathologists and physicians use when diagnosing aphasia.

It’s important to keep in mind when choosing an aphasia ICD-10 code that the cause of aphasia (e.g., the medical condition or neurological event underlying the language impairment) guides proper coding—not the type of language impairment or symptoms in isolation.

‌

Tips for finding the correct ICD-10 code for aphasia

As a speech-language pathologist, your best bet for finding the correct ICD-10 code for aphasia is referring to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's (ASHA) curated list of ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes for SLPs.

This handy manual contains all ICD-10 codes pertinent to speech, language, communication, and swallowing disorders.

If you’re unsure about which ICD-10 code for aphasia to use, ASHA distinguishes between each of them in this resource.

When in doubt, remember that the diagnosis code should be as specific as possible and accurately reflect the underlying cause or condition that led to aphasia.

For example, if a client presents with aphasia after a stroke, the proper diagnosis code would be I69.320 (aphasia following cerebral infarction).

Diagnosis codes do not exactly match aphasia subtypes. There is no single Broca’s aphasia or Wernicke’s aphasia ICD-10 code. Similarly, a code that specifically describes “word finding difficulty” ICD-10 doesn’t exist.

Clinicians must take care to identify the ICD-10 code that best reflects the underlying medical diagnosis and symptoms that resulted in aphasia. In the absence of such a diagnosis or condition, the ICD-10 code for aphasia R47.01 may be used.

Other common ICD-10 codes for SLPs

Using ICD-10 codes is an essential part of healthcare documentation for SLPs, as it allows us to accurately document a patient's diagnosis, which is crucial for proper billing and reimbursement from insurance companies.

It can be challenging for SLPs to keep track of all the ICD codes, as there are a wide range of diagnoses that fall under the speech pathology umbrella.

Beyond the aphasia ICD-10 code, speech and language therapists in private practice should be familiar with other common codes, such as:

F80.0: Phonological disorder
F80.1: Expressive language disorder (also used for developmental expressive aphasia)
F80.2: Mixed receptive-expressive language disorder (also used for developmental receptive aphasia)
F80.4: Speech and language development delay due to hearing loss
F80.81: Childhood onset fluency disorder, cluttering, stuttering
F80.82: Social pragmatic communication disorder
F80.9: Developmental disorder of speech and language, unspecified
F84.0: Autistic disorder
I69.322: Dysarthria following cerebral infarction
R48.2: Apraxia
R63.31: Pediatric feeding disorder, acute

Since speech-language pathologists treat a diverse range of clients, this list is by no means exhaustive.

Just like the ICD-10 code for aphasia, there may be more than one code for a single disorder or diagnosis. Consulting the ASHA list of ICD-10-CM codes for SLPs is generally a good starting point.