Drug/chem diab with mod nonp rtnop without mclr edema, unsp

This code describes diabetes mellitus caused by a drug or chemical, specifically presenting with moderate nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy. This stage of retinopathy involves microaneurysms, hemorrhages, and venous beading, but without macular edema, and the affected eye is not specified.

Use this code when documentation clearly indicates drug- or chemical-induced diabetes with a diagnosis of moderate nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy. The physician's notes must explicitly state the absence of macular edema and not specify laterality for the retinopathy. This code is appropriate when the diabetes etiology is directly linked to medication or chemical exposure.

• Always sequence the drug or chemical causing the diabetes as an additional code, if known.
• Ensure documentation explicitly rules out macular edema; otherwise, a different code for retinopathy with macular edema would be appropriate.
• Verify that the diabetes is indeed drug/chemical induced, not type 1, type 2, or other specified types, to avoid miscoding.