Standpoints

To date, the DRG-DRG does not include an indication of whether a given DRG procedure should be reported with laterality (P, L, B) or without laterality (Z). Rule V0203A may apply differently in several situations, as the procedure may not include a paired organ or paired body part in the title and is performed bilaterally or in the context of a diagnosis that is paired. For example, fractures of the angle of the acetabulum (dg. S02.65) may be bilateral, the procedure 5s103.32 "Open repositioning and osteosynthesis of a mandibular fracture" is performed.

Due to recurrent disputes in the determination of laterality of diagnoses and medical procedures, the CKS DRG proceeded to determine the initial draft of the need for coding laterality of entire codes of diagnoses and medical procedures. That proposal is currently being commented on by the Medical Analysis Working Group and will be published by the CKS DRG once the final settings have been determined, and you will be notified of its publication via the CKS DRG Update. It is agreed that the determination of the laterality coding obligation from 2027 onwards will be part of the ZZV and MKCH codes, where their settings will be subject to regular updates based on feedback from users of the classification system.