Radiology Coding Alert

Question: What’s the ICD-10-CM code for a wellness exam for a plain chest X-ray?

Tennessee Subscriber

Answer: You may report a single-view chest X-ray that the radiologist interprets as part of a wellness examination with one of two codes, depending on the findings. If the radiologist’s interpretation yields no abnormal findings, you’ll report Z00.00 (Encounter for general adult medical examination without abnormal findings). However, if the radiologist does discover one or more noteworthy abnormal findings and documents them in the impression, you should report code Z00.01 (Encounter for general adult medical examination with abnormal findings).

If you do report Z00.01, you should abide by the parenthetical instructions in the ICD-10-CM manual and use an additional, secondary code to identify the abnormal findings in the dictation report.

You should also keep in mind the various parent code notes for Z00.00 and Z00.01. Underneath category code Z00, you’ve got the following Excludes1 and Excludes 2 notes:

• Excludes1: encounter for examination for adminis­trative purposes (Z02.-)
• Excludes2: encounter for pre-procedural examinations (Z01.81-) special screening examinations (Z11-Z13).

For subcategory code Z00.0, you’ll see the following Excludes 1 note:

• Excludes1: encounter for examination of sign or symptom- code to sign or symptom general health check-up of infant or child (Z00.12.-)