2026 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code F40.232Fear of other medical care

ICD-10-CM Codes›F01–F99›F40-F48›F40

ICD-10-CM F40.232
CMSSource: CMS FY 2026 ICD-10-CM dataset · Effective Oct 1, 2025 – Sep 30, 2026

F40.232 is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for fear of other medical care. It is valid on HIPAA claims for fiscal year 2026 (October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026). In AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software (CCSR), this diagnosis falls under Anxiety and fear-related disorders.

Code Identity

ICD-10-CM Code
F40.232
Billable Status
Yes — Valid for Submission
Code Describes
Fear of other medical care
Short Description
Fear of other medical care
Same as the full description in the CMS dataset.
Parent Code
F40.23
Blood, injection, injury type phobia

Code Classification

ChapterF01–F99Mental and behavioural disorders
SectionF40-F48Anxiety, dissociative, stress-related, somatoform and other nonpsychotic mental disorders
CategoryF40Phobic anxiety disorders
This CodeF40.232Fear of other medical care

Approximate SynonymsGuidance

Alternate terms and clinical phrases that map to this code.

  • Anxiety about visiting dentist
  • Dental phobia
  • Fear about medication side effects
  • Fear associated with healthcare
  • Fear of anesthetic
  • Fear of awareness under general anesthetic
  • Fear of dentist
  • Fear of general anesthetic
  • Fear of hospitals
  • Fear of local anesthetic
  • Fear of medical treatment
  • Fear of not coping with treatment
  • Fear of not waking from general anesthetic
  • Fear of problem after anesthetic
  • Unrealistic dental phobia

Index to Diseases and InjuriesGuidance

Alphabetical index entries that point to this code.

External Cause of Injuries IndexGuidance

References for this code in the External Cause of Injuries Index.

    • Phobia, phobic
      • specified NEC
        • medical care NEC

Clinical ClassificationClinical

AHRQ’s CCSR groups this code into broader clinical categories.

CCSR MBD005
Anxiety and fear-related disorders
Default principal diagnosis: inpatient Yes · outpatient Yes

Clinical InformationClinical

  • Dental Phobia

    a persistent, irrational fear of treatment, whether preventative or therapeutic, by a dentist, coupled with compulsive desire to avoid any such situation.

Patient EducationClinical

Phobias

A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder. It is a strong, irrational fear of something that poses little or no real danger.

Read the full article at MedlinePlus

Courtesy of MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Convert F40.232 to ICD-9-CMHistory

The closest ICD-9-CM equivalents under the General Equivalence Mappings.

ICD-9-CM
300.29 Isolated/spec phobia NEC
Approximate The match is approximate rather than exact.

Code HistoryHistory

FY 2016AddedAdded to the ICD-10-CM code setEffective October 1, 2015, the first year of ICD-10-CM.
FY 2017–2025No changes
FY 2026CurrentCurrent code set, no changesEffective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026.

Questions About F40.232Overview

Is F40.232 (Blood, injection, injury type phobia) a billable code?

Yes. This is a billable ICD-10-CM code, specific enough to report fear of other medical care on HIPAA-covered claims from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026.

What is the ICD-9 equivalent of F40.232?

Under the General Equivalence Mappings, fear of other medical care converts to ICD-9-CM 300.29 (isolated/spec phobia NEC). The mapping is approximate, so confirm the match fits the documentation.

Footnotes

[1] Chronic - a chronic condition code indicates a condition lasting 12 months or longer and its effect on the patient based on one or both of the following criteria:

  • The condition results in the need for ongoing intervention with medical products,treatment, services, and special equipment
  • The condition places limitations on self-care, independent living, and social interactions.