Wiki Coding allergies

[mrs_freiberg]

If a pt is allergic to niacin or Vitamin C, do you code that as V15.05- allergy to other foods, or V14.8- allergy to other meds?

I am thinking it should be coded as other food, since these are naturally occurring substances found in foods. Even if you take it in supplement form to treat something, wouldn't it still be considered a food?

I welcome your thoughts.

Thank you!

 

[mitchellde]

If a pt is allergic to niacin or Vitamin C, do you code that as V15.05- allergy to other foods, or V14.8- allergy to other meds?

I am thinking it should be coded as other food, since these are naturally occurring substances found in foods. Even if you take it in supplement form to treat something, wouldn't it still be considered a food?

I welcome your thoughts.

Thank you!

Since these are found in foods and virins mostly and vitamins are a nutritional supplement I would go with food allergy

 

[mrs_freiberg]

Since these are found in foods and virins mostly and vitamins are a nutritional supplement I would go with food allergy

The person whom I report to said I should code it as V14.8, since a the allergy is to the particular nutritional element, and not the food. Since a person would take it as a supplement for health purposes, it becomes a medicine. I wish there were a more specific code for these things. I can document what the patient is allergic to, but often the coder's notes are lost in the electronic transmission. All you see from the other side are the codes. Frustrating.