F50.819
BillableBinge eating disorder, unspecified
HCC Category Mapping
RxHCCHCC 133 — Personality Disorders, Anxiety, and Other Specified Mental Disorders
0.000What This Code Means
Binge eating disorder without specification of severity level or remission status, used when the condition is present but details about its severity are not documented.
Coding Tips
- •Use as a default when severity (extreme vs. mild/moderate) is not specified in the medical record
- •Query the provider if severity information is available but not explicitly documented to allow for more specific coding
Clinical Significance
Binge eating disorder involves recurrent episodes of eating significantly more food than most people would in a similar period with a sense of loss of control, WITHOUT the compensatory purging behaviors seen in bulimia nervosa. This is the most common eating disorder in the United States and is strongly associated with obesity, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes. Severity is based on binge frequency: Frequency not specified.
Documentation Requirements
- ✓Recurrent episodes of binge eating with objectively large food quantities and loss of control
- ✓Documentation of binge eating frequency (Frequency not specified) to support severity level
- ✓At least three of: eating rapidly, eating until uncomfortably full, eating large amounts when not hungry, eating alone due to embarrassment, feeling disgusted/depressed/guilty afterward
- ✓Marked distress regarding binge eating
- ✓Binge eating occurs at least once per week for three months WITHOUT regular compensatory behaviors
Commonly Confused Codes
F50.2x (Bulimia nervosa) — bulimia includes compensatory purging behaviors; binge eating disorder does NOTF50.9 (Eating disorder, unspecified) — use specific binge eating disorder code when criteria are metE66.01 (Morbid obesity due to excess calories) — obesity is a consequence, not the eating disorder itself; code both when applicableF50.89 (Other specified eating disorder) — use for subthreshold binge eating disorder that does not meet full criteriaR63.2 (Polyphagia) — symptom of excessive appetite, not the same as binge eating disorder
Code Hierarchy
└F50Eating disorders└F50.8Other eating disorders└F50.81Binge eating disorder└F50.819Binge eating disorder, unspecified
└F50.819Binge eating disorder, unspecified