Ob-Gyn Coding Alert

You Be the Coder:

Gestational Hypertension No Longer Present

Question: How do you code for a postpartum follow-up visit for a patient who had gestational hypertension or preeclampsia whose symptoms are no longer present?

Oklahoma Subscriber

Answer: You should report codes Z39.2 (Encounter for routine postpartum follow-up) and Z87.59 (Personal history of other complications of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium) for a follow-up visit for gestational hypertension and preeclampsia that is no longer present at the time of the visit. This is because ICD-10-CM guidelines state that once a condition is no longer present, it becomes a history of the problem instead.