R26.2 vs R29.6
R26.2 and R29.6 can never be reported together. ICD-10-CM declares them mutually exclusive with an Excludes1 note, meaning the two conditions cannot occur in the same patient — so exactly one of them is correct for any given encounter.
The official note, declared on R26.2
falling (R29.6)
R26.2
Difficulty in walking, not elsewhere classified
BillableUnspecified
- Chapter 18
- Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified
- Section
- R25-R29
Indexed under
- Dysbasia
- Difficult, difficulty › walking (in)
- Gait abnormality › walking difficulty NEC
- Walking › difficulty
R29.6
Repeated falls
Billable
- Chapter 18
- Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified
- Section
- R25-R29
Use when the record says
- Falling
- Tendency to fall
Indexed under
- Falling, falls (repeated)
- Repeated falls NEC
- Gait abnormality › falling
- Tendency › to fall
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