Pediatric Coding Alert

One option can be only an additional diagnosis, not a primary. Now that you have four codes for foster care or welfare situations, you've got to focus on its role in the encounter -- or you could land on the wrong V code. Get Acquainted With Your Foster Care Codes To better monitor foster care, ICD-9 2010 creates V60.81 (Foster case [status]). But you should consider additional foster care codes including: • family disruption (V61.05, Family disruption due to child in welfare custody and V61.06, Family disruption due to child in foster care or in care of non-parental family member) • counseling codes (V61.25, Counseling for parent [guardian]-foster child problem). Important: "I would use V60.81 more as a secondary code than a primary code," notes Donelle Holle, RN, a coding and reimbursement consultant with Pedscoding.com in Ft. Wayne, Ind. ICD-9-CM confirms this designation, which also applies to the other new V60.8x [...]