Comprehensive Medical Coding,
Chapter 7, Factors Influencing Health
Status and Contact with Health
Services (Z00-Z99)100% Correct!!
*Patient Services When Patient is Not Ill or Injured* - ANSWER In healthcare, patients receive
services even though they are not ill or injured. Patients may seek:
(1) annual physical examinations,
(2) vaccinations,
(3) screening examinations,
(4) follow-up care, or
(5) maternity care.
Physicians need to track patient's information about:
(1) patients' health status,
(2) patients' health history,
(3) and health risks that do not present current
problems but could in the future.
*Z Codes* - ANSWER Z codes represent reasons for encounters and may be used in any healthcare
setting when the reason for the encounter is NOT a disease, injury, or external cause that is classified
in the preceding ICD-CM-10 chapters for body systems (A00-Y99).
Z codes are used in two general types of circumstances:
(1) A person encounters the health services for some specific purpose that, in itself, is not a disease
or injury. For example, receiving limited care or service for a current condition, donating an organ or
tissue, receiving prophylactic vaccination, or discussing a problem; and
(2) A circumstance or problem that exists that influences the person's health status, but is not, in
itself, a current illness or injury. For example, being a carrier of a communicable disease, having a
, family history of certain conditions, or wearing a prosthetic device such as a pacemaker or an
artificial limb.
*Contact/Exposure* - ANSWER A contact or exposure indicates that a patient does NOT show any
sign or symptom of a disease but is suspected to have been exposed to it by close personal contact
with an infected individual or is in an area where a disease is epidemic.
Patients that have NO signs or symptoms of a disease but who are suspected to have been in an area
where a disease is epidemic would be assigned a *Z* code to describe their contact or exposure.
*Inoculations and Vaccinations* - ANSWER Inoculations and vaccinations are reported for
encounters for prophylactic inoculations and vaccinations against a disease.
*Status* - ANSWER Status means that a patient is either a carrier of a disease or has the sequela or
residual of a past disease or condition.
Status codes and history codes are rarely used as the sole diagnosis code because they do not
represent the sole reason for the encounter.
For example, codes for family history, BMI, blood type, or DNR describe supplemental information
and are used in conjunction with other Z codes or codes from the body system chapters.
*History (of)* - ANSWER *Personal history* codes explain a patient's past medical condition that no
longer exists and is not receiving any treatment, but that has the potential for recurrence, and
therefore may require continued monitoring.
When a physician documents a past medical condition that NO longer exists, the Main Term for the Z
code would be *History, personal*.
Z codes are classified into *15* categories. Although you do not need to memorize specific codes, it
is helpful to memorize these Z code categories and definitions. The Z code categories are:
(1) contact/exposure;
(2) innoculations and vaccinations;
(3) status;
(4) history (of);
(5) screening;
Chapter 7, Factors Influencing Health
Status and Contact with Health
Services (Z00-Z99)100% Correct!!
*Patient Services When Patient is Not Ill or Injured* - ANSWER In healthcare, patients receive
services even though they are not ill or injured. Patients may seek:
(1) annual physical examinations,
(2) vaccinations,
(3) screening examinations,
(4) follow-up care, or
(5) maternity care.
Physicians need to track patient's information about:
(1) patients' health status,
(2) patients' health history,
(3) and health risks that do not present current
problems but could in the future.
*Z Codes* - ANSWER Z codes represent reasons for encounters and may be used in any healthcare
setting when the reason for the encounter is NOT a disease, injury, or external cause that is classified
in the preceding ICD-CM-10 chapters for body systems (A00-Y99).
Z codes are used in two general types of circumstances:
(1) A person encounters the health services for some specific purpose that, in itself, is not a disease
or injury. For example, receiving limited care or service for a current condition, donating an organ or
tissue, receiving prophylactic vaccination, or discussing a problem; and
(2) A circumstance or problem that exists that influences the person's health status, but is not, in
itself, a current illness or injury. For example, being a carrier of a communicable disease, having a
, family history of certain conditions, or wearing a prosthetic device such as a pacemaker or an
artificial limb.
*Contact/Exposure* - ANSWER A contact or exposure indicates that a patient does NOT show any
sign or symptom of a disease but is suspected to have been exposed to it by close personal contact
with an infected individual or is in an area where a disease is epidemic.
Patients that have NO signs or symptoms of a disease but who are suspected to have been in an area
where a disease is epidemic would be assigned a *Z* code to describe their contact or exposure.
*Inoculations and Vaccinations* - ANSWER Inoculations and vaccinations are reported for
encounters for prophylactic inoculations and vaccinations against a disease.
*Status* - ANSWER Status means that a patient is either a carrier of a disease or has the sequela or
residual of a past disease or condition.
Status codes and history codes are rarely used as the sole diagnosis code because they do not
represent the sole reason for the encounter.
For example, codes for family history, BMI, blood type, or DNR describe supplemental information
and are used in conjunction with other Z codes or codes from the body system chapters.
*History (of)* - ANSWER *Personal history* codes explain a patient's past medical condition that no
longer exists and is not receiving any treatment, but that has the potential for recurrence, and
therefore may require continued monitoring.
When a physician documents a past medical condition that NO longer exists, the Main Term for the Z
code would be *History, personal*.
Z codes are classified into *15* categories. Although you do not need to memorize specific codes, it
is helpful to memorize these Z code categories and definitions. The Z code categories are:
(1) contact/exposure;
(2) innoculations and vaccinations;
(3) status;
(4) history (of);
(5) screening;
