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Z20.811 ICD-10-CM Code: Contact with and (suspected) exposure to meningococcus

Compare with another code for Z20.811Check this code on a claim

Billing Status: YES. This is a valid, specific, and billable ICD-10-CM reference.

Coding at a Glance

Official instructions
2 Excludes1 · 1 Excludes2

What these terms mean →

Billable · FY2027A valid, specific ICD-10-CM code, reportable for dates of service in FY2027.

What you need to know

Source: CMS/NCHS Official ICD-10-CM tabular notes, quoted. From the CMS/NCHS tabular list for the release in force. A note the category or block publishes applies to this code too, and is marked with where it comes from.

Excludes1from Z20Not reported with this code unless documented as unrelated
  • carrier of infectious disease (Z22.-)
  • diagnosed current infectious or parasitic disease -see Alphabetic Index
Excludes2from Z20Not included here; may be reported together
  • personal history of infectious and parasitic diseases (Z86.1-)

Where it sits Source: CMS/NCHS

Under:Chapter 21: Factors Influencing Health Status and Contact with Health ServicesZ20-Z29 Persons with potential health hazards related to communicable diseasesZ20 Contact with and (suspected) exposure to communicable diseasesZ20.8 Contact with and (suspected) exposure to other communicable diseasesZ20.81 Contact with and (suspected) exposure to other bacterial communicable diseases

Most relevant related codes MedCoder-derived

Read off the official notes above and this code’s own position in the tabular list. Which to report is a documentation question; Compare shows the two side by side.

CompareCheck ClaimView Related Codes

Inpatient Payment Groups (MS-DRG)

Potential MS-DRG participation — not a DRG assignment.

MS-DRGs this diagnosis helps define, as principal or secondary, per the CMS ICD-10-CM/PCS MS-DRG Definitions Manual v44, Appendix B.

  • MS-DRG 795 — NORMAL NEWBORN (MDC 15)
  • MS-DRG 951 — OTHER FACTORS INFLUENCING HEALTH STATUS (MDC 23)

A diagnosis appearing in a group's logic does not by itself determine the DRG assigned to a stay; the grouper uses the full claim.

Coding instructions

Official Tabular Instructional Notes: the inclusion, exclusion and sequencing notes published for Z20.811 in the official ICD-10-CM tabular list, quoted as published.

Source: CMS/CDC — ICD-10-CM Tabular ListRelease: FY2027Effective: October 1, 2026

Trace:FY2027 changesChange historyRelease, file and checksum

Notes without a marker are published on Z20.811 itself; “inherited from” names the category or block whose note applies here.

Excludes1 — Not Coded Here

Conditions generally not reported together with this code (Excludes1) -- an error unless the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).

Source: inherited from Z20

Excludes2 — Not Included Here

Conditions not covered by this code, but which may be reported alongside it when both are present.

Source: inherited from Z20

Coder workflow for Z20.811

MedCoder structured workflow — derived from this code’s own official record

Before you code Z20.811

  1. Confirm the reason for the encounter this Z code records: the circumstance it records. Check whether the code may be reported as first-listed or principal — some Z codes are limited to one position — and do not report a history or status code for a condition documented as current. Z code categories and their reporting positions (Guidelines I.C.21.c, I.C.21.c.15).

    Guide: Z codes as principal or first-listed diagnosis →

  2. Check the Excludes1 note: if the documentation supports a condition named there, do not simply proceed with Z20.811. Excludes1 conditions are not reported together with this code unless the record shows they are unrelated (Guidelines I.A.12.a).

    See the official tabular notes

Choose the right path

  1. Does the documentation support a condition named in Z20.811’s Excludes1 note?
    Yes → Do not simply proceed: review the excluded code. Both are reported only when the record shows the two conditions are unrelated.
    No → Continue.

    ReviewZ22

Consider Z20.811. Then confirm the code is valid for the date of service in the Verify section.

Documentation check

The provider’s diagnostic statement
Codes are assigned from the provider’s documented diagnosis, not from clinical criteria, test values or a medication list (Guidelines I.A.19).
The associated condition or complication
Whether the associated condition the title names is documented; the “with” convention presumes some links, and a provider statement that the conditions are unrelated defeats it (Guidelines I.A.15).
The reason for the encounter
Whether the code records the encounter’s purpose, a status, or a history — and whether it may be first-listed (Guidelines I.C.21.c).

Official instructions as workflow

  • Excludes1 — check before selecting Z20.811(2 notes)

    Coding workflow: If the documentation supports a condition named in this note, do not simply proceed with Z20.811: the two are not reported together. The one exception is when the record shows the two conditions are unrelated to each other.

    CompareZ22

    See the official tabular notes · Guidelines I.A.12.a

  • Excludes2 — not part of Z20.811(1 note)

    Coding workflow: The conditions named in this note are not included in Z20.811. When the record documents both, both may be reported; the note is a boundary, not a prohibition.

    CompareZ86.1

    See the official tabular notes · Guidelines I.A.12.b

Coding decision scenarios

Pattern scenarios for this code’s structure — decision rules, not clinical cases

Documentation: Both the condition Z20.811 describes and a condition named in its Excludes1 note are documented for the same encounter.

Coding question: Can both codes be reported?

Path: Review the Excludes1 note and the excluded code, and look for a provider statement on whether the two conditions are related.

Reason: Excludes1 means the two are not coded together; the exception is when the record shows the conditions are unrelated to each other (Guidelines I.A.12.a).

ReviewZ22

Every row is derived from this code’s own record — its title, tabular notes, 7th-character family and same-category siblings — with fixed MedCoder wording; nothing is inferred about a patient. The official notes and guideline text are in the sections each row links to, and they control.

Don’t confuse Z20.811 with…

MedCoder analysis — pairs from this code’s official notes, distinctions written by MedCoder

The codes most likely to be picked instead of Z20.811 — named in its own official notes, or sharing its laterality or encounter family — with what separates them and which documentation moves the case. Each links to the full comparison.

  • Z22— Excludes1 conflict (Excludes1 — generally not reported together)

    Not coded here — the tabular list excludes this pair for the same encounter.

    Not reported together with this code, except where the two conditions are documented as unrelated.

    What moves you there: Documentation of carrier of infectious disease moves the case to Z22; the two are not reported together unless documented as unrelated.

    Full comparison: Z20.811 vs Z22 →

  • Z86.1— Excludes2 relationship (Informational)

    Distinct conditions — both may be reported.

    A distinct condition — both may be reported when both are documented.

    What moves you there: Documentation of personal history of infectious and parasitic diseases adds Z86.1; it is not part of this code and both may be reported when both are documented.

    Full comparison: Z20.811 vs Z86.1 →

Relationships are read from this code's own official notes, its laterality siblings and its encounter family; the wording of each distinction is MedCoder editorial, and the documentation named in each “what moves you there” line is the official note phrase or sibling title itself. Source: CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes; ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a.

Coding context

Guidelines, coding notes, decision aids, relationships (with MS-DRG and CCSR classification), hierarchy, HCC, coverage and the context map: what a coder reaches for after the core. Each section names whether it is official source data, a MedCoder-derived relationship or MedCoder editorial.

Code Overview

Contact with and (suspected) exposure to meningococcus is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (Z20.811).

MedCoder summary Summary composed by MedCoder from this code's official ICD-10-CM record. The tabular instructional notes themselves appear verbatim below.

Official Coding Guidelines

Official source data — quoted verbatim from the CMS/NCHS Official Guidelines

Verbatim excerpts from the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting (CMS/NCHS) that govern this code.

Chapter 1: Certain Infectious and Parasitic Diseases (A00-B99), U07.1, U09.9 a. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infections 1) Code only confirmed cases

For symptomatic individuals with actual or suspected exposure to COVID-19 and the infection has been ruled out, or test results are inconclusive or unknown, assign code Z20.822, Contact with and (suspected) exposure to COVID-19. See guideline I.C.21.c.1, Contact/Exposure, for additional guidance regarding the use of category Z20 codes.

Chapter 21: Factors influencing health status and contact with health services (Z00-Z99)

1) Contact/Exposure Category Z20 indicates contact with, and suspected exposure to, communicable diseases. These codes are for patients who are suspected to have been exposed to a disease by close personal contact with an infected individual or are in an area where a disease is epidemic.

Verify Before Coding

  • No Medicare Code Editor or MS-DRG Definitions Manual restrictions apply to this code.

From the code registry, the Medicare Code Editor, and the MS-DRG Definitions Manual. Check it against a full claim in Claim Check.

Relationships & Classification

MedCoder-derived relationships — computed from published CMS and AHRQ datasets

Other codes that name Z20.811 or its code family, from the CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes. Tabular-note edges are stored at the code family level that carries each note.

Referenced by 2 Excludes2 notes: Z77 — Other contact with and (suspected) exposures hazardous to health (via Z20.-), Z83 — Family history of other specific disorders (via Z20.-).

These codes’ tabular lists name this diagnosis as distinct — both may be reported when both are documented.

MS-DRG Grouper Relationships (FY2027)

Potential MS-DRG participation — not a DRG assignment.

FY2027 MS-DRG: not on the CMS CC/MCC list — as a secondary diagnosis this code does not change MS-DRG severity for that release.

Named in the grouper logic of 2 MS-DRGs: DRG 795 (MDC 15), DRG 951 (MDC 23).

From the CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (Appendices B and C). Actual DRG assignment depends on the complete claim.

Clinical classification (AHRQ CCSR):FAC016 — Exposure, encounters, screening or contact with infectious disease (default).

Clinical Classifications Software Refined (CCSR) for ICD-10-CM Diagnoses. Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Related Codes

Same clinical category (CCSR)

AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software groups these diagnoses under the same clinical category (Exposure, encounters, screening or contact with infectious disease).

Z11.8 — Encounter for screening for other infectious and parasitic diseases, Z11.9 — Encounter for screening for infectious and parasitic diseases, unspecified, Z20.01 — Contact with and (suspected) exposure to intestinal infectious diseases due to Escherichia coli (E. coli), Z20.09 — Contact with and (suspected) exposure to other intestinal infectious diseases, Z20.1 — Contact with and (suspected) exposure to tuberculosis, Z20.2 — Contact with and (suspected) exposure to infections with a predominantly sexual mode of transmission, Z20.3 — Contact with and (suspected) exposure to rabies, Z20.4 — Contact with and (suspected) exposure to rubella, Z20.5 — Contact with and (suspected) exposure to viral hepatitis, Z20.6 — Contact with and (suspected) exposure to human immunodeficiency virus [HIV], Z20.7 — Contact with and (suspected) exposure to pediculosis, acariasis and other infestations, Z20.810 — Contact with and (suspected) exposure to anthrax, Z20.818 — Contact with and (suspected) exposure to other bacterial communicable diseases, Z20.820 — Contact with and (suspected) exposure to varicella, Z20.821 — Contact with and (suspected) exposure to Zika virus, Z20.822 — Contact with and (suspected) exposure to COVID-19, Z20.828 — Contact with and (suspected) exposure to other viral communicable diseases, Z20.89 — Contact with and (suspected) exposure to other communicable diseases, Z20.9 — Contact with and (suspected) exposure to unspecified communicable disease, Z23 — Encounter for immunization, +15 more

Same Index main term, other category

The ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries files this code under the main terms “Exposure”, “Contact”; these codes share that main term but sit in a different category of the Tabular List.

P00.82 — Newborn affected by (positive) maternal group B streptococcus (GBS) colonization (positive maternal group B streptococcus), P96.81 — Exposure to (parental) (environmental) tobacco smoke in the perinatal period (second hand tobacco smoke, in the perinatal period), T69.8 — Other specified effects of reduced temperature (cold, effects of, specified effect NEC), T69.9 — Effect of reduced temperature, unspecified (cold, effects of), T73.2 — Exhaustion due to exposure (exhaustion due to), T73.9 — Effect of deprivation, unspecified (effects of), T75.89 — Other specified effects of external causes, Z57.0 — Occupational exposure to noise (occupational, noise), Z57.1 — Occupational exposure to radiation (occupational, radiation), Z57.2 — Occupational exposure to dust (occupational, dust), Z57.31 — Occupational exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (occupational, environmental tobacco smoke), Z57.39 — Occupational exposure to other air contaminants (occupational, air contaminants NEC), Z57.4 — Occupational exposure to toxic agents in agriculture (occupational, toxic agentsin agriculture), Z57.5 — Occupational exposure to toxic agents in other industries (occupational, toxic agentsin industry NEC), Z57.6 — Occupational exposure to extreme temperature (occupational, extreme temperature), Z57.7 — Occupational exposure to vibration (occupational, vibration), Z57.8 — Occupational exposure to other risk factors (occupational, risk factors, specified NEC), Z57.9 — Occupational exposure to unspecified risk factor (occupational, risk factors), Z60.5 — Target of (perceived) adverse discrimination and persecution (persecution), Z65.4 — Victim of crime and terrorism (torture), +33 more

Contextual Map

Every relationship of Z20.811 in one view: hierarchy, official tabular instructions in both directions, clinical classification, risk adjustment, MS-DRG participation, index terms and change history — each edge carrying the CMS source it derives from.

Run Z20.811 with these 2 related codes in Claim Check

Hierarchy

Referenced by Excludes2 notes

Clinical classification (CCSR)

MS-DRG Grouper

MDC crossing

Index entries

  • Contact (with), meningococcus[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2027
  • Exposure (to), meningococcus[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2027

Nearest codes (22)

Change history

  • FY2016 — In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption [Change history]— CMS release files (code change ledger) · icd10cm-fy2016

Reference

Index terms and tables, published questions and FAQ, every source behind this page with its release and checksum, the date-of-service check and the complete change history.

Indexed Clinical Terms (2)

Official source data — entries quoted as published, in the Index’s own lookup phrasing

Clinical term phrases from the official ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries that map to this code. These are alphabetic-index entries shown as the Index writes them — lookup phrasing, not necessarily the wording of a final diagnosis.

Sources for this page

Codes, titles, notes, index terms and mappings on this page are transcribed from the datasets below. Relationships MedCoder computed and text MedCoder wrote are labelled where they appear.

Code, title, tabular notes and index terms Official source data
CMS/CDC ICD-10-CM FY2027 tabular list, index and tables, effective October 1, 2026 Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Coding guidelines Official source data
ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting (FY2027), quoted by section Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Claim edits Official source data
CMS Definitions of Medicare Code Edits — v44.0 (October 2026) Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Inpatient payment groups Official source data
CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (incl. Appendix B diagnosis index, Appendix C CC/MCC list, Appendix E procedure index) and IPPS Final Rule tables — v44 Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Change history and date-of-service validity Official source data
CMS ICD-10-CM release addenda, ingested release by release into the change ledger Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Comparisons, relationships and the contextual map MedCoder-derived relationship
Computed by MedCoder from the tabular notes and tables above; every derived relationship is marked as derived where it appears
Summary and FAQ answers MedCoder editorial explanation
Written by MedCoder to explain the sources above: drafted with AI assistance, checked by a person against the release files, and labelled as MedCoder text where it appears. Not official text.

Current data releases:ICD-10-CM FY2027 · ICD-10-PCS FY2027 · HCPCS October 2026 · MS-DRG v44 · Medicare Code Editor v44.0 · NCCI PTP Q4 2026 · MUE Q4 2026 · NCD code lists 2026-01 · LCD export September 28, 2026 · All releases and sources

Labels on this page: Official source data · MedCoder-derived relationship · MedCoder editorial explanation. How to read the labels · All data sources and release dates · CMS coding rules

Cite this page

Reference this page in a research guide, syllabus or article. The release is included because code content changes each year.

MedCoder.ai. "Z20.811 — Contact with and (suspected) exposure to meningococcus." ICD-10-CM FY2027. https://medcoder.ai/icd10/code/z20.811-contact-with-and-suspected-exposure-to-meningococcus

Change history

  • FY2016 — October 1, 2015
    In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption
    Contact with and (suspected) exposure to meningococcus

No changes since FY2016 — additions, deletions, description changes and billable-status changes are tracked through FY2027, and none are recorded for this code. Note changes are tracked from FY2027 only.

Nearest Codes in This Family

Official ICD-10-CM classifications closest to Z20.811 in its code family, with their registry titles.

View all codes in the Z20 family