Question

multiple choice question

what letter of the alphabet is never used as the first character of an icd-10-cm code?

u
i
z
o

Explanation:

Analyze ICD-10-CM code structure

Using the ICD-10 Code Structure knowledge point

• ICD-10-CM codes are alphanumeric and consist of 3 to 7 characters.
• The first character of an ICD-10-CM code is always an alphabetic letter.
• All letters of the alphabet are utilized as the first character of a code category except for one specific letter.
• The letter U is reserved by the World Health Organization (WHO) for temporary assignments of new diseases of uncertain etiology or for emergency use (such as U07.1 for COVID-19), and is not used in standard ICD-10-CM clinical coding chapters.

Answer:

• (A) U (Correct answer)
• (B) I
• (C) Z
• (D) O