HI253 Unit 2 Index and Tabular Exercise Example

Reviewed by Chester Goodwin, MBA Medical Coding I Purdue University Global Free custom sample in 24 to 48h

This HI253 Unit 2 index and tabular exercise traces ten diagnostic statements from the main term to a confirmed ICD-10-CM code. In Purdue Global HI 253, part of the BS in Health Information Management, students learn early that the index suggests and the tabular list decides. Each row in the sample records the main term chosen, the subterms followed and the code the index offered, then states what the tabular entry did to it. Seven codes hold without change. Three do not: a sprained ankle gains its side and a seventh character, and two respiratory statements are moved by Excludes1 notes the index never showed. A short section explains what the three changed rows have in common, and a closing note cites research on how often coding errors start with skipped verification.

CourseHI253 Medical Coding I
UnitUnit 2
Paper typeIndex and tabular exercise
LengthAbout 860 words, 6 pages double-spaced
FormatAPA 7 student paper
SchoolPurdue University Global
ProgramBS in Health Information Management
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for HI253 Unit 2

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Ten Statements, Ten Lookups, Three Changes at the Tabular: A Unit 2 Index and Tabular Exercise Tracing Each Diagnosis From Main Term to Final Code and Marking Where Verification Changed the Answer

[Student Name]

Purdue University Global

HI253: Medical Coding I

Unit 2 Index and Tabular Exercise

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

The diagnostic statements are composite; the code entries, notes and sources cited are real and follow the FY 2026 ICD-10-CM.

What this part is doingRecording the path for every row, not only the answer, is what this unit grades, because the path is where the habit of verification shows.
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Method

Each row below gives five things: the statement as written, the main term, the subterms followed in the Alphabetic Index, what the Tabular List added or changed, and the final code. The main term is always the condition, never the body site or the patient's complaint location, so heart failure is found under Failure and reflux under Reflux. Nonessential modifiers, the words in parentheses after a term, are noted where they appear because they neither add to nor change the code. Every index code was then checked in the Tabular List, as the guidelines require, since the index alone does not show the instructional notes or the full number of characters a code may need (National Center for Health Statistics, 2025).

The Ten Rows

1. Acute on chronic systolic heart failure. Main term: Failure. Path: heart, systolic, acute on chronic. Index code I50.23. Tabular: no note changes the code for this record, which documents no hypertension. Final: I50.23.

2. Gastroesophageal reflux disease without esophagitis. Main term: Reflux. Path: gastroesophageal. Index code K21.9. Tabular: confirmed. Final: K21.9.

3. Sprain of left ankle, initial encounter. Main term: Sprain. Path: ankle. Index code S93.40-, with a dash showing the code is incomplete. Tabular: the sixth character 2 marks the left side and category S93 requires a seventh character, A for initial encounter. Final: S93.402A. Changed.

4. Iron deficiency anemia secondary to chronic blood loss. Main term: Anemia. Path: iron deficiency, secondary to blood loss (chronic). Index code D50.0. Tabular: confirmed. Final: D50.0.

5. Migraine without aura, not intractable, without status migrainosus. Main term: Migraine. Path: without aura, not intractable, without status migrainosus. Index code G43.009. Tabular: confirmed. Final: G43.009.

6. Streptococcal pharyngitis. Main term: Pharyngitis. Path: streptococcal. Index code J02.0. Tabular: confirmed. Final: J02.0.

7. Major depressive disorder, single episode, moderate. Main term: Disorder. Path: depressive, major, single episode, moderate. Index code F32.1. Tabular: confirmed. Final: F32.1.

8. Chronic kidney disease, stage 4. Main term: Disease. Path: kidney, chronic, stage 4. Index code N18.4. Tabular: a code first note points to any associated hypertensive or diabetic kidney disease, and none is documented here. Final: N18.4.

9. Acute bronchitis in a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Main term: Bronchitis. Path: acute. Index code J20.9. Tabular: category J20 carries an Excludes1 note for acute bronchitis with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, sending the coder to J44.0, which itself instructs the coder to code also the infection. Final: J44.0 and J20.9. Changed.

10. Pneumonia with influenza, virus not identified. Main term: Pneumonia. Path: no subterm matched the record more closely, so the index code J18.9 was carried to the tabular. Tabular: category J18 carries an Excludes1 note for pneumonia with influenza, pointing to the influenza categories. Final: J11.00, influenza due to unidentified influenza virus with unspecified type of pneumonia. Changed.

Three of ten rows changed after the index had already offered an answer. A table built from the index alone would have been wrong on all three.

What this part is doingEach changed row quotes the note that changed it, so a grader can see that the final code came from the classification and not from memory.
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What the Changed Rows Show

The sprain row changed because the index is not designed to show every character. A dash at the end of an index entry is the classification's own warning that the tabular holds the rest of the code. A coder who copied S93.40 into a claim would submit an invalid code, and a coder who added only the laterality would still miss the seventh character, which every injury code in this category requires. The two respiratory rows changed for a different reason. The index gave a valid code each time, but the Tabular List said that code may not be used for this patient's combination of conditions. Under an Excludes1 note the listed condition never shares a record with the code it sits beneath, and the note itself names the right home for the combination. Both rows show why the guidelines insist on checking the tabular even when the index code looks complete.

What this part is doingExplaining why each kind of change happened, not only that it happened, turns a table of answers into evidence of method.
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Notes on Accuracy

Studies of coded hospital data find that errors enter at every stage, from the documentation to the coder's lookup, and that skipped verification steps are a recurring source (O'Malley et al., 2005). A systematic review of British discharge coding put median diagnostic accuracy at 80.3 percent, with individual studies ranging from about 50 to 98 percent (Burns et al., 2012). An exercise like this one is small, but it practices the step that prevents a large share of those errors: reading the tabular entry, its notes and its required characters before a code is accepted.

Summary

Ten statements coded. Seven index codes confirmed unchanged. One completed at the tabular with laterality and a seventh character. Two redirected by Excludes1 notes, one of which also required a second code under a code also instruction.

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References

Burns, E. M., Rigby, E., Mamidanna, R., Bottle, A., Aylin, P., Ziprin, P., & Faiz, O. D. (2012). Systematic review of discharge coding accuracy. Journal of Public Health, 34(1), 138-148. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdr054

National Center for Health Statistics. (2025). ICD-10-CM official guidelines for coding and reporting FY 2026. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

O'Malley, K. J., Cook, K. F., Price, M. D., Wildes, K. R., Hurdle, J. F., & Ashton, C. M. (2005). Measuring diagnoses: ICD code accuracy. Health Services Research, 40(5p2), 1620-1639. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6773.2005.00444.x

The Purdue Global HI253 Unit 2 instructions

Unit 2 normally hands you a list of diagnostic statements, often eight to twelve, and asks for a code for each one with the lookup path written out. You are expected to identify the main term, normally the disease or injury and not where on the body it sits, follow any subterms in the Alphabetic Index, and then confirm the code in the Tabular List before you accept it. Most prompts want the reason for any change recorded next to the row, whether it came from an Excludes1 note, a required seventh character or a placeholder X. Some sections give a template table, while others accept a numbered list. Expect at least one statement where the obvious index entry is wrong. The final answer is graded on the code, but the path is how the instructor decides whether the code was understood or guessed.

Inside the HI253 Unit 2 example

The exercise begins with a method paragraph that defines the main term, the subterm and the act of verification so every row can be read the same way. The ten rows follow in a numbered list, each giving the statement, the main term, the index result and the tabular result. Rows that change carry one sentence naming the note or character requirement that changed them. A highlighted line observes that three of ten rows would have been wrong if the index result had been copied. A section then looks at those three together and finds the pattern: laterality, a seventh character and an exclusion note. A short accuracy section draws on published reviews of coding error. The summary restates the count, seven unchanged and three corrected, and lists the three tabular features that caused the corrections.

Where the points sit in the HI253 Unit 2 rubric

Most of the marks attach to correct final codes, usually a point or two per row, with partial credit for a right main term even when the code is wrong. A separate portion of the rubric asks whether the tabular step is visible, which is why the sample records the index result and the confirmed result side by side. Instructors also reward correct handling of instructional notes, and they look for the placeholder X and the seventh character in the right positions, because a code missing either is invalid. Explanations of why a row changed tend to carry their own points. Presentation matters less than in a paper but still counts: an aligned list or table, consistent formatting and a reference to the current guidelines in APA style.

HI253 Unit 2 help from the desk

The error instructors mark most often is coding straight from the index. Students also choose the wrong main term, looking up ankle instead of sprain, and then cannot find the condition. Some miss the X that holds a position open before a seventh character, which turns a valid code into an invalid one. Others stop at a category with four characters when the tabular entry requires five. Leaving the reason for a change blank costs points even when the corrected code is right. If your list has statements that do not match any example in your text, we can work them through in the format your instructor gave. Send the statements, the code set edition and your template, and we will return each row with its full path and the note that settled it.

Get an HI253 Unit 2 example written to your instructions

Your section's statements are what the exercise should use, so upload the Unit 2 list, the instructions and the rubric, noting the code set edition your course follows. Each row returns with its full path and the tabular reading shown beside it in 24-48h. The first custom sample carries no fee. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.

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HI253 Unit 2 questions, answered

Why do the statements in this exercise look easy?

Because the difficulty is in the verification, not the lookup. Most rows can be found in the index in seconds, and a quick table with ten index codes looks finished. The exercise is built so that several rows change only after the tabular is read, which tests the habit of checking every code rather than the ability to find a term.

Can the exercise be done with an encoder?

Many sections want the manual path shown even where an encoder is available, because the software hides the index-to-tabular steps the unit is teaching. An encoder answer with no path is often treated as unsupported. Where your instructions allow software, it is still worth recording the main term and the tabular notes the program displayed along the way.

What does the placeholder X do?

It holds a position open. Some categories need a seventh character but have fewer than six characters before it, so X fills the empty places and the seventh character lands where the classification expects it. A code with the seventh character in the wrong position is invalid, which is why the exercise shows the placeholder explicitly on every injury row.

Where can I find a free HI253 Unit 2 sample paper?

This page has the full Unit 2 index and tabular exercise: ten statements, each traced from main term to verified code, with three rows corrected at the tabular list.

What is a main term in ICD-10-CM coding?

It is the word you look up first in the Alphabetic Index, normally the disease or injury itself, with the body part found among the subterms. Sprain, not ankle, leads the search for an ankle sprain.