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  6. 2025 ICD-10-CM Code Z71.9

2025 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code Z71.9

Counseling, unspecified

ICD-10-CM Code:
Z71.9
ICD-10 Code for:
Counseling, unspecified
Is Billable?
Yes - Valid for Submission
Code Navigator:

Z71.9 is a billable diagnosis code used to specify a medical diagnosis of counseling, unspecified. The code is valid during the current fiscal year for the submission of HIPAA-covered transactions from October 01, 2024 through September 30, 2025. The code is exempt from present on admission (POA) reporting for inpatient admissions to general acute care hospitals.

This code describes a circumstance which influences the patient's health status but not a current illness or injury. The code is unacceptable as a principal diagnosis.

Unspecified diagnosis codes like Z71.9 are acceptable when clinical information is unknown or not available about a particular condition. Although a more specific code is preferable, unspecified codes should be used when such codes most accurately reflect what is known about a patient's condition. Specific diagnosis codes should not be used if not supported by the patient's medical record.

Code Classification

  • Factors influencing health status and contact with health services
    Z00–Z99
    • Persons encountering health services in other circumstances
      Z69-Z76
      • Persons encountering health services for other counseling and medical advice, not elsewhere classified
        Z71

Approximate Synonyms

The following list of clinical terms are approximate synonyms, alternative descriptions, or common phrases that might be used by patients, healthcare providers, or medical coders to describe the same condition. These synonyms and related diagnosis terms are often used when searching for an ICD-10 code, especially when the exact medical terminology is unclear. Whether you're looking for lay terms, similar diagnosis names, or common language alternatives, this list can help guide you to the correct ICD-10 classification.

  • Advice about treatment given
  • Advice given
  • Counseled by a doctor
  • Counseled by a midwife
  • Counseled by a nurse
  • Counseled by a social worker
  • Counseled by counselor
  • Counseled by member of primary health care team
  • Counseled by voluntary worker
  • Counseling of benefit
  • Counseling of no benefit
  • Counseling procedure with explicit context
  • Discussed with caregiver
  • Educating parent of subject
  • Education of caregiver
  • Education of family
  • Education reinforced
  • Had a chat to parent
  • Had a chat to patient
  • Health education given
  • Patient counseled
  • Patient given advice
  • Patient given medical advice
  • Person counseled
  • Person counseled by
  • Referred by consultant
  • Referred by physician

Clinical Classification

Clinical Classifications group individual ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes into broader, clinically meaningful categories. These categories help simplify complex data by organizing related conditions under common clinical themes.

They are especially useful for data analysis, reporting, and clinical decision-making. Even when diagnosis codes differ, similar conditions can be grouped together based on their clinical relevance. Each category is assigned a unique CCSR code that represents a specific clinical concept, often tied to a body system or medical specialty.

Other specified encounters and counseling

CCSR Code: FAC012

Inpatient Default: X - Not applicable.

Outpatient Default: Y - Yes, default outpatient assignment for principal diagnosis or first-listed diagnosis.

Clinical Information

  • Counseling

    the giving of advice and assistance to individuals with educational or personal problems.

  • Directive Counseling

    counseling during which a professional plays an active role in a client's or patient's decision making by offering advice, guidance, and/or recommendations.

  • Distance Counseling

    counseling conducted via electronic or other non-face-to-face interactions.

  • Genetic Counseling

    an educational process that provides information and advice to individuals or families about a genetic condition that may affect them. the purpose is to help individuals make informed decisions about marriage, reproduction, and other health management issues based on information about the genetic disease, the available diagnostic tests, and management programs. psychosocial support is usually offered.

  • Sex Counseling

    advice and support given to individuals to help them understand and resolve their sexual adjustment problems. it excludes treatment for psychosexual disorders or psychosexual dysfunction.

  • Vocational Guidance

    systematic efforts to assist individuals in selecting an occupation or suitable employment on the basis of aptitude, education, etc.

Tabular List of Diseases and Injuries

The following annotation back-references are applicable to this diagnosis code. The Tabular List of Diseases and Injuries is a list of ICD-10-CM codes, organized "head to toe" into chapters and sections with coding notes and guidance for inclusions, exclusions, descriptions and more.


Inclusion Terms

Inclusion Terms
These terms are the conditions for which that code is to be used. The terms may be synonyms of the code title, or, in the case of "other specified" codes, the terms are a list of the various conditions assigned to that code. The inclusion terms are not necessarily exhaustive. Additional terms found only in the Alphabetic Index may also be assigned to a code.
  • Encounter for medical advice NOS

Index to Diseases and Injuries References

The following annotation back-references for this diagnosis code are found in the injuries and diseases index. The Index to Diseases and Injuries is an alphabetical listing of medical terms, with each term mapped to one or more ICD-10-CM code(s).

Code Edits

The Medicare Code Editor (MCE) detects errors and inconsistencies in ICD-10-CM diagnosis coding that can affect Medicare claim validity. These Medicare code edits help medical coders and billing professionals determine when a diagnosis code is not appropriate as a principal diagnosis, does not meet coverage criteria. Use this list to verify whether a code is valid for Medicare billing and to avoid claim rejections or denials due to diagnosis coding issues.

Unacceptable principal diagnosis

There are selected codes that describe a circumstance which influences an individual's health status but not a current illness or injury, or codes that are not specific manifestations but may be due to an underlying cause. These codes are considered unacceptable as a principal diagnosis.

View Edit

Present on Admission (POA)

Z71.9 is exempt from POA reporting - The Present on Admission (POA) indicator is used for diagnosis codes included in claims involving inpatient admissions to general acute care hospitals. POA indicators must be reported to CMS on each claim to facilitate the grouping of diagnoses codes into the proper Diagnostic Related Groups (DRG). CMS publishes a listing of specific diagnosis codes that are exempt from the POA reporting requirement. Review other POA exempt codes here.

CMS POA Indicator Options and Definitions

POA Indicator: Y

Reason: Diagnosis was present at time of inpatient admission.

CMS Pays CC/MCC DRG? YES

POA Indicator: N

Reason: Diagnosis was not present at time of inpatient admission.

CMS Pays CC/MCC DRG? NO

POA Indicator: U

Reason: Documentation insufficient to determine if the condition was present at the time of inpatient admission.

CMS Pays CC/MCC DRG? NO

POA Indicator: W

Reason: Clinically undetermined - unable to clinically determine whether the condition was present at the time of inpatient admission.

CMS Pays CC/MCC DRG? YES

POA Indicator: 1

Reason: Unreported/Not used - Exempt from POA reporting.

CMS Pays CC/MCC DRG? NO

Convert Z71.9 to ICD-9-CM

Below are the ICD-9 codes that most closely match this ICD-10 code, based on the General Equivalence Mappings (GEMs). This ICD-10 to ICD-9 crosswalk tool is helpful for coders who need to reference legacy diagnosis codes for audits, historical claims, or approximate code comparisons.

Counseling NOS

ICD-9-CM: V65.40

Approximate Flag - The approximate mapping means this ICD-10 code does not have an exact ICD-9 equivalent. The matched code is the closest available option, but it may not fully capture the original diagnosis or clinical intent.

View Conversion

Reason for consult NOS

ICD-9-CM: V65.9

Approximate Flag - The approximate mapping means this ICD-10 code does not have an exact ICD-9 equivalent. The matched code is the closest available option, but it may not fully capture the original diagnosis or clinical intent.

View Conversion

Code History

  • FY 2024 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2023 through 9/30/2024
  • FY 2023 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2022 through 9/30/2023
  • FY 2022 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2021 through 9/30/2022
  • FY 2021 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2020 through 9/30/2021
  • FY 2020 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2019 through 9/30/2020
  • FY 2019 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2018 through 9/30/2019
  • FY 2018 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2017 through 9/30/2018
  • FY 2017 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2016 through 9/30/2017
  • FY 2016 - New Code, effective from 10/1/2015 through 9/30/2016. This was the first year ICD-10-CM was implemented into the HIPAA code set.