Coding Clinic guidance on Z38
Hi,
AHA Coding Clinic guidance is the official guidance for ICD-10 coding and the Q&A below definitively answers the question of whether the attending physician reports Z38 for the entire birth admission.
(2017 Vol 4, No 2)
Question:
Occasionally newborns are admitted to our facility from birth, and stay well beyond the 29th day of life due to perinatal or congenital conditions. For reporting the attending physician services, is it appropriate to assign a code from subcategory Z38.0-, Single liveborn infant, born in hospital, regardless of the length of stay and age of the patient?
Answer:
Yes, it is appropriate to assign a code from subcategory Z38.0-, Single liveborn infant, born in hospital, as the first-listed diagnosis for the attending physician services until the patient is discharged from the birth hospital. Coding Clinic, Second Quarter 2015, page 15, stated, “For physician coding and reporting, category Z38 codes are not limited to only the day the baby was born. A physician may report a code from category Z38 for each visit during the birth admission.”
I hope this helps.
Cindy