Which code describes the purpose of Z-codes?

• A. Z codes identify the severity of injury.
• B. Z codes are used for external causes of disease.
• C. Z codes identify billing modifiers.
• D. Z codes identify factors influencing health status or encounters for reasons other than disease or injury (e.g., routine exam).

Answer: (D)

Z codes identify factors influencing health status or encounters for reasons other than disease or injury, such as routine exams, immunizations, screenings, or a visit for a non-disease reason like awaiting test results. They provide the context for why care is provided and help with preventive and administrative aspects of healthcare. They are ICD-10-CM codes used to describe these non-disease encounters. They aren’t used to indicate injury severity (that uses injury-type codes) and aren’t billing modifiers (those come from CPT/HCPCS). External causes of morbidity are coded with different code sets (V, W, X, Y), not Z codes.