Z20
Header — not billableContact with and (suspected) exposure to communicable diseases
The ICD-10 code for contact with and (suspected) exposure to communicable diseases is Z20.
Z20 is a non-billable header code. It groups related conditions but cannot be used on its own for reimbursement — select one of the 10 more specific codes below.
Clinical notes
Excludes1 (not coded here)
An Excludes1 note is a pure exclusion: the excluded condition and this code should never be reported together, because the two conditions cannot occur at the same time (e.g. a congenital form vs. an acquired form of the same disease).
- carrier of infectious disease (Z22.-)
- diagnosed current infectious or parasitic disease -see Alphabetic Index
Excludes2 (not included here)
An Excludes2 note means the excluded condition is not part of this one, but a patient can have both at the same time — in that case both codes may be reported together.
- personal history of infectious and parasitic diseases (Z86.1-)
Documentation support
General coding-documentation guidance — not a substitute for payer-specific requirements or professional coding judgment.
- •This is a non-billable header code. Documentation must support a more specific child code before this diagnosis can be reported on a claim.
- •Confirm the excluded condition(s) listed above are not also present — Excludes1 conditions cannot be coded together with this one.
- •As a general rule, code to the highest level of specificity supported by the documentation in the medical record.
Child codes under Z20
- Z20.0Contact with and (suspected) exposure to intestinal infectious diseasesnon-billable header
- Z20.1Contact with and (suspected) exposure to tuberculosis
- Z20.2Contact with and (suspected) exposure to infections with a predominantly sexual mode of transmission
- Z20.3Contact with and (suspected) exposure to rabies
- Z20.4Contact with and (suspected) exposure to rubella
- Z20.5Contact with and (suspected) exposure to viral hepatitis
- Z20.6Contact with and (suspected) exposure to human immunodeficiency virus [HIV]
- Z20.7Contact with and (suspected) exposure to pediculosis, acariasis and other infestations
- Z20.8Contact with and (suspected) exposure to other communicable diseasesnon-billable header
- Z20.9Contact with and (suspected) exposure to unspecified communicable disease
Related codes in this category
- Z21Asymptomatic human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] infection status
- Z22Carrier of infectious diseasenon-billable header
- Z23Encounter for immunization
- Z28Immunization not carried out and underimmunization statusnon-billable header
- Z29Encounter for other prophylactic measuresnon-billable header
- Z20Contact with and (suspected) exposure to communicable diseasesnon-billable header