
Coding & Documentation
Fam Pract Manag. 2022;29(6):29
Author disclosure: no relevant financial relationships.
AGE-APPROPRIATE FORGETFULNESS
REPORTING NORMAL TEST RESULTS
VISION SCREENING DURING CHILD’S ROUTINE EXAM
Yes, code 99173 is separately reportable per CPT. However, some health plans will bundle the services and not pay code 99173 on the same date of a preventive medicine service (codes 99381-99387 or 99391-99397). Other payers, including some Medicaid plans, do pay a separate fee for code 99173 when reported with children’s preventive medicine E/M services but only at certain ages (e.g., 3–5 years). You may want to have an office or billing manager investigate the policies of the health plans your practice commonly bills. Routine vision and hearing testing are included under ICD-10 codes for routine child health examination (Z00.121 and Z00.129), so no additional diagnosis code is required.