F43.81 — Prolonged Grief Disorder

Clinical Description

F43.81 is the ICD-10-CM code for prolonged grief disorder (PGD), which was added to the DSM-5-TR; F43.8 on its own is a non-billable category header. PGD involves an intense, disabling grief response following the death of a close person that lasts well beyond what the person's culture and community would expect; the DSM-5-TR sets a duration requirement measured from the death.

Key Symptoms to Document

When using F43.81, your documentation should reference these symptoms:

• Intense, persistent longing for the person who died
• Thoughts of the person who died that crowd out much of the day
• Grief that keeps the patient from re-engaging with work, relationships, or routines

Common Interventions to Document

Evidence-based interventions typically documented with this diagnosis:

• Prolonged Grief Disorder Therapy (PGDT / Complicated Grief Treatment)
• CBT adapted for grief
• Supportive grief counseling
• Grief-focused group therapy
• Pharmacotherapy for co-occurring depression or insomnia if indicated

CPT Code Pairings

Common CPT codes used when billing with F43.81. Code descriptions below are original plain-language summaries, not official AMA CPT descriptor text — consult a current CPT codebook for authoritative definitions:

• 90791 — Intake interview and diagnostic assessment
• 90837 — Individual therapy, extended session (53+ min)
• 90834 — Individual therapy, standard session (38–52 min)
• 90853 — Therapy delivered in a group of unrelated clients
• 96127 — Brief standardized symptom questionnaire, scored and documented

Documentation Tips

• Document the death of a close person and the relationship to the deceased.
• Record how much time has passed since the death and check it against the DSM-5-TR duration requirement.
• Describe the patient's cultural and religious context for mourning, and why this reaction stands out within it.
• Describe the grief in observable terms with examples rather than counting symptoms; check the diagnosis against the DSM-5-TR.
• Differentiate from normal grief by documenting clinically significant distress or functional impairment that persists well beyond the expected mourning period.

Differential Diagnosis Considerations

When documenting F43.81, consider and rule out:

• Normal bereavement (Z63.4)
• Major depressive disorder (F32.x / F33.x)
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (F43.10)
• Adjustment disorder with depressed mood (F43.21)
• Separation anxiety disorder (F93.0)

Screening Tools

Standardized measures commonly used with this diagnosis:

• PG-13 (Prolonged Grief Disorder scale)
• ICG (Inventory of Complicated Grief)
• Brief Grief Questionnaire (BGQ)
• PHQ-9 (to screen for comorbid depression)
• TRIG (Texas Revised Inventory of Grief)