Excludes1 pair

J30.1 vs T78.4-

J30.1 and T78.4 are not coded together. ICD-10-CM declares them mutually exclusive with an Excludes1 note — the two conditions are not expected to occur together, so exactly one of them is normally correct for a given encounter. The Official Guidelines carve out one exception: if the two conditions are clearly unrelated to each other, both may be reported.

The official note, declared on T78.4
hay fever (J30.1)
J30.1

Allergic rhinitis due to pollen

Billable
Chapter 10
Diseases of the respiratory system
Section
J30-J39
Use when the record says
  • Allergy NOS due to pollen
  • Hay fever
  • Pollinosis
Indexed under
  • Hay fever
  • Pollinosis
  • Allergy, allergic › due to pollen
  • Allergy, allergic › grain
  • Allergy, allergic › grass (hay fever) (pollen)
T78.4

Other and unspecified allergy

Not billable
Chapter 19
Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes
Section
T66-T78

These two codes sit in different chapters of the Tabular List, which is usually the clearest signal that they describe different underlying processes rather than different degrees of the same one.

Excludes1 is not always absolute: where two conditions covered by the note are genuinely unrelated, CMS guidance permits reporting both. Document the reasoning rather than assuming it. More on Excludes1 vs Excludes2 · FY2027