Pathology/Lab Coding Alert

Question: What diagnosis code would I use if the patient is requesting lab tests to fulfill a work requirement, not for medical reasons?

Virginia Subscriber

Answer: You should turn to the ICD-10 “Z” codes, which describe factors that influence health status or lead to contact with health services. You don’t say what the lab tests are, so it’s difficult to assign a specific code to answer your question.

Depending on what the test is for, you might use one of the following codes:

• Z00.00 — Encounter for general adult medical examination without abnormal findings
• Z00.01 — Encounter for general adult medical examination with abnormal findings
• Z01.89 — Encounter for other specified special examinations
• Z02.1 — Encounter for pre-employment examination
• Z02.83 — Encounter for blood-alcohol and blood-drug test

If you have a specific scenario, such as a nurse who needs a tuberculosis screening prior to hiring, you should select a more specific Z code, if available, such as Z11.1 (Encounter for screening for respiratory tuberculosis).