Internal Medicine Coding Alert
READER QUESTION:
Use V15.81 for Noncompliance
Published on Mon Aug 23, 2004 
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Question: We performed a nine-panel drug screen on a patient because the internist believed that the patient wasn't taking his medication correctly. Which ICD-9 code should we report for this? Answer: You should report V15.81 (Noncompliance with medical treatment) if you're certain that the patient failed to take his prescribed medications. If you merely suspect that the patient took his medication incorrectly, you should report the ICD-9 code for the patient's symptoms. For example, if the patient complained of dizziness and a lack of coordination, you should report 780.4 (Dizziness and giddiness) and 781.3 (Lack of coordination).
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