F33.0
BillableMajor depressive disorder, recurrent, mild
HCC Category Mapping
V24HCC 59 — Major Depressive, Bipolar, and Paranoid Disorders
0.309ESRDHCC 59 — Major Depressive, Bipolar, and Paranoid Disorders
0.000RxHCCHCC 132 — Major Depressive Disorder and Other Mood Disorders
0.000What This Code Means
Multiple episodes of depression throughout a person's life with mild symptoms that cause minimal functional impairment.
Coding Tips
- •Confirm history of at least two separate depressive episodes to justify recurrent coding
- •Document that current episode is mild; if severity increases, update to appropriate F33 code
Clinical Significance
Major depressive disorder, recurrent, mild indicates the patient has a history of multiple major depressive episodes with the current episode being mild. The recurrent designation is clinically significant because it indicates a higher lifetime risk of future episodes and typically warrants long-term or indefinite maintenance antidepressant therapy. Even mild recurrent depression requires ongoing management.
Documentation Requirements
- ✓Provider documentation of major depressive disorder with recurrent episodes
- ✓History of at least two separate major depressive episodes
- ✓Current episode documented as mild severity
- ✓Core depressive symptoms documented with minimal functional impairment
- ✓Maintenance treatment plan including medication management
- ✓Duration of current symptoms
Commonly Confused Codes
F32.0 — Major depressive disorder, single episode, mild: Only one lifetime episodeF33.1 — Major depressive disorder, recurrent, moderate: Greater functional impairmentF34.1 — Dysthymic disorder: Chronic persistent depression, not episodic recurrenceF33.9 — Major depressive disorder, recurrent, unspecified: Use when severity is not documented
Code Hierarchy
└F33Major depressive disorder, recurrent└F33.0Major depressive disorder, recurrent, mild
└F33.0Major depressive disorder, recurrent, mild