F40.231

Billable

Fear of injections and transfusions

HCC Category Mapping

RxHCCHCC 133 — Personality Disorders, Anxiety, and Other Specified Mental Disorders

0.000

What This Code Means

An intense fear of needles, injections, or blood transfusions that may prevent a person from seeking necessary medical care.

Coding Tips

•This is a blood-injection-injury type phobia
•Document specific triggers (needles, injections, transfusions) and impact on medical compliance

Clinical Significance

Fear of injections and transfusions (trypanophobia) is a blood-injection-injury subtype phobia that can significantly impact healthcare delivery by causing patients to avoid vaccinations, blood draws, intravenous medications, and surgical procedures. This phobia affects an estimated 10% of the population and can lead to serious health consequences when patients defer necessary medical care.

Documentation Requirements

✓Marked fear or anxiety specifically about injections, needles, or transfusion procedures
✓Documentation of avoidance of necessary medical procedures due to the phobia
✓History of vasovagal responses during injection attempts if applicable
✓Duration of 6+ months
✓Impact on healthcare compliance and treatment adherence
✓Management strategies (e.g., topical anesthetics, distraction techniques, desensitization therapy)

Commonly Confused Codes

F40.230 (Fear of blood) — Blood phobia is about seeing blood; needle phobia is about the injection/procedure itself F40.232 (Fear of other medical care) — Broader medical phobia vs. specific needle/injection phobia Z91.120 (Patient's intentional underdosing of medication regimen due to financial hardship) — Distinguish phobia-driven noncompliance from other reasons for medication nonadherence

Code Hierarchy

└F40Phobic anxiety disorders └F40.2Specific (isolated) phobias └F40.23Blood, injection, injury type phobia └F40.231Fear of injections and transfusions

└F40.231Fear of injections and transfusions