F40.298
BillableOther specified phobia
HCC Category Mapping
RxHCCHCC 133 — Personality Disorders, Anxiety, and Other Specified Mental Disorders
0.000What This Code Means
An intense, irrational fear of specific objects or situations not otherwise specified, such as fear of animals, blood, or medical procedures.
Coding Tips
- •Use this code when the phobia does not fit into other specific F40.2 categories
- •Document the specific object or situation that triggers the fear
Clinical Significance
Other specified phobia is a residual category for specific phobias that do not fit into the animal, natural environment, blood-injection-injury, or situational subtypes, and do not have their own specific ICD-10-CM code. Examples include fear of choking (phagophobia), fear of vomiting (emetophobia), or fear of costumed characters. These phobias can cause significant functional impairment.
Documentation Requirements
- ✓Specific phobic stimulus clearly identified in documentation
- ✓Marked fear or anxiety disproportionate to actual danger
- ✓Consistent anxiety response upon exposure or anticipation
- ✓Active avoidance or endurance with intense distress
- ✓Duration of 6+ months
- ✓Clinically significant distress or functional impairment
Commonly Confused Codes
F40.9 (Phobic anxiety disorder, unspecified) — Use F40.298 when the phobic stimulus is specified but does not match a named code; use F40.9 only when truly unspecifiedF40.8 (Other phobic anxiety disorders) — F40.8 covers phobic disorders not classified as specific phobias (e.g., social phobia NEC); F40.298 is for specific phobias of unnamed stimuliF45.22 (Body dysmorphic disorder) — Fear of appearance defects is body dysmorphia, not a specific phobia
Code Hierarchy
└F40Phobic anxiety disorders└F40.2Specific (isolated) phobias└F40.29Other specified phobia└F40.298Other specified phobia
└F40.298Other specified phobia