2025 ICD-10-CM code Z11

Encounter for screening for infectious and parasitic diseases. Screening is the testing for disease or disease precursors in asymptomatic individuals so that early detection and treatment can be provided for those who test positive for the disease.

A Z code should not be used as a primary diagnosis if a definitive diagnosis has been established. If a screening test results in a diagnosis of an infectious or parasitic disease, the appropriate diagnosis code for that disease should be used.

Medical necessity for the screening should be documented based on risk factors such as travel to endemic areas, exposure to infected individuals, or occupational hazards.

The physician is responsible for ordering and reviewing the results of the screening tests, counseling the patient about the results, and initiating treatment if necessary.

In simple words: This code is used when a healthy person goes to the doctor to be tested for infectious and parasitic diseases, such as malaria or tuberculosis.

This code is used for encounters with health services for screening for infectious and parasitic diseases.This includes screenings for diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, and various parasitic infections.The individual undergoing screening may or may not be sick, and the purpose of the encounter is specifically for the screening itself. This code would not be used if the patient has symptoms suggestive of an infectious or parasitic disease.

Example 1: A traveler going to a malaria-endemic region visits their doctor to be screened for malaria before their trip., A healthcare worker is screened for tuberculosis as part of routine occupational health checks., A child adopted from a country with a high prevalence of parasitic infections is screened for parasites after arriving in the US.

Documentation should support the reason for the screening, the specific infectious or parasitic disease being screened for, the test performed, and the results.

** Excludes1: encounter for diagnostic examination-code to sign or symptom.Excludes1: examinations related to pregnancy and reproduction (Z30-Z36, Z39.-).

  • Specialties:General practice, infectious disease, internal medicine, travel medicine, occupational health, pediatrics.
  • Place of Service:Office, Public Health Clinic, Independent Clinic, Federally Qualified Health Center
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