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Pediatric Coding Alert

READER QUESTIONS:

Use V15.86 When Child Had a Recalled Toy

Published on Thu Oct 25, 2007

Question: What V code should we use for lead screenings that parents request due to the numerous toy recalls? Do we have to know definitively that a patient was exposed to lead to use V15.86?


Florida Subscriber


Answer: If there is a known exposure to lead, use V15.86 (Exposure to lead). If a parent requests the screening because she has identified that the child had contact with one or several of the toys listed in the toy recalls, V15.86 is appropriate--a known exposure has occurred.

Alternatively, report V82.5 (Special screening for chemical poisoning and other contamination) for routine screenings. Also use this code when a parent requests the screening for general concerns with no specific contact. Answers to You Be the Coder and Reader Questions provided/reviewed by Joel Bradley Jr., MD, FAAP, medical director for the Cumberland Pediatric Foundation in Tennessee; Jeffrey F. Linzer Sr., MD, FAAP, FACEP, associate medical director for compliance and business affairs at EPG in Egleston, Ga,; and Richard H. Tuck, MD, FAAP, a national pediatric coding speaker and educator.
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