2026 ICD-10-PCS MS-DRG V43.0

Diagnosis-Related Groups (DRGs) are a patient classification system that provides a standardized method for relating the types of patients a hospital treats. DRGs divide all possible principal diagnoses into mutually exclusive categories known as Major Diagnostic Categories (MDCs). The current version, V43.0, is effective for discharges from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026.

Each MDC is designed to represent a single organ system or etiology and is generally aligned with a specific medical specialty. To maintain clinical consistency, patients assigned to different MDCs cannot be grouped into the same DRG.

Most MDCs are constructed around organ systems because clinical care is typically organized by the system affected rather than by disease etiology. As a result, conditions involving both an organ system and a specific etiology are assigned to the MDC for the organ system involved. However, not all conditions fit neatly into an organ system-based category. To address these exceptions, several residual MDCs were created, including those for Systemic Infectious Diseases, Myeloproliferative Diseases, and Poorly Differentiated Neoplasms.