Primary Care Coding Alert

Question: What V code should we use for lead screenings that parents request for their children due to the numerous toy recalls? Do you 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 other conditions; chemical poisoning and other contamination) for routine screenings. Also use this code when a parent requests the screening for general concerns without a specified episode of lead exposure. -- Answers to You Be the Coder and Reader Questions reviewed by Kent J. Moore, manager of Health Care Financing and Delivery Systems for the American Academy of Family Physicians in Leawood, Kan.