:grouphug: Praying for all.

Thank you for everyone!!! I do have it in writing that Z55.9 is used for homeschooled. It is on the sheets I received from the visit. That a code was associated with homeschooling surprised me & I looked it up. (Prior to kids, I was in medical practice adm. I was thinking wow, they even have a code for homeschool now, let me look it up b/c no other doctor has ever used it for any of my dc. The true definition of the code is what got me concerned.) Monday I will request a copy of dd's medical records before doing anything else. I do not want it to be changed retroactively, or if it is I will have a copy of pre-change record. There is no way the doctor can justify our socioeconomic circumstances can lead to a health hazard. (we are not well off, but sitting in middle class, living in a middle class neighborhood, in a middle class part of town. I don't work outside of house, but dh is employed.) I will need her to explain what psychosocial circumstances she thinks are contributing to problems related to education and literacy & then what those problems are. Out of curiosity, does anyone know what things fall under psychosocial circumstances? Needless to say, I am stressed out. I either need to get the coding issue solved or there is the potential for a serious issue with my dd, the doctor didn't share it with me, what could it be???? (here's the thing, dd does have some educational issues. we didn't talk about them in either visit & they are not apparent in that kind of setting. dd is literate. dd participates in a group for speech therapy with other fifth graders at the local school. her speech disfluency is practically nonexistent & not noticeable to an untrained ear anymore. this is her last semester of speech therapy. there are much more appropriate codes for speech issues. Z55.9 doesn't seem to address this issue at all.) I loved our last pediatrician in Saratoga Springs, NY. I erred in selecting this particular pediatric practice here in our new location in IL. :(

I wouldn't be bothered by the screenings but I would be concerned why parents wouldn't be notified or something included in the student handbook. My local school district shares a great deal of info. I would wonder why no notification was given. I would be happy that they were doing the screenings, just let me know.

Thank you for all of the ideas. I really can't imagine involving a lawyer; this seems like a simple thing for the office to correct. Though, the visit was billed with this code. The neighbor across the street is a lawyer, I will ask her for a recommendation. Her dh is a cardiologist. They probably know who would be good for this. My dd is spending the night with their dds tonight. Will talk with them tomorrow. Will get a lawyer name, but before I walk with him/her, will contact insurance company. Will also try to speak with the practice administrator/mgr at the doctor's office. Thank you for all of responses. It is very helpful in sorting out what to do, how to approach this issue. I have run out of likes, I am sorry!!!

The doctor's office may want some kind of confirmation that a patient is asked about school at every visit. But, the code Z55.9 falls under the category, Persons with potential health hazards related to socioeconomic and psychosocial circumstances, and in particular, problems related to education and literacy, unspecified. If the office wants confirmation that the doctor asked about school, this is not the code to use. This Z code does not mean, doctor asked where patient goes to school. The fact that the office is telling me they equate Persons with potential health hazards related to socioeconomic and psychosocial circumstances, and in particular, problems related to education and literacy, unspecified, with homeschooling is alarming to me. (and/or if the doctor does feel this applies to my dd, I feel we are owed an explanation as to why this applies) To me, this code implies some serious issues & if the doctor truly sees them, we need to get dd the help she needs. But, we can't do this if the doctor/office doesn't share info. I do understand that icd-10-cm brought about a great deal of coding changes. But, that doesn't change the fact that Z55.9 does not correspond to homeschooled.

Thank you Joanne. Thank you to everyone for your comments and advice. At first, I was livid that dd's doctor equated homeschool with serious educational issues. Then, I calmed down, began process to have code removed & decided we will find a new doctor. Now, I am beginning to understand what this code really means & I am furious. How dare she use this code & not even mention anything to me about it.

No, we are in central IL. This doctor is in a practice that is part of the large Catholic health organization headquartered in Peoria. (if you live here, you know which hospital group I am talking about, religion only included to identify the group. I know this is NOT a Catholic thing :001_smile: ) I was truly surprised by the code & the response from the nurse (RN) at the office. I don't know if this code is assigned to all homeschoolers in this health network or just this particular practice. Maybe a coding consultant did tell the office to use this code for any homeschoolers & the doctor doesn't know what code really means. But, I don't care the reason. This is dc number 4 & have never run into anything like this before.

When I talked to the nurse at the office, she said all homeschooled patients have this code assigned to them. I did request that the code be removed & not billed to insurance and to call me when the code was removed. Nurse said she would talk to the doctor. (in a patronizing tone) We will find another doctor. It never occurred to me that homeschooling would be considered odd in this day & age. (on a good note, dermatologist had a cancellation for this afternoon. I think the rash is related to a skin condition she had when she came home from China. Doctors at the time said it may reoccur throughout her life.) Have calmed down & will look at this as a good to find out now, before any major health issues arise kind of thing. Will insist code is removed & then transfer to a new doctor, associated with a different health organization.

Reason for visit is a rash on dd's arms & face that comes and goes.. Thought I should check it out. Doctor gave us a referral to a dermatologist. From that encounter, came school & literacy problems. There were no trick questions for dd to answer, no reading of any kind, just a real quick visit.

Praying for your stepdad and your family. :grouphug:

Thank you for making me not feel crazy for my surprise at seeing this code. This is a regular pediatrician, no other specialty. The doctor did not discuss any school issues, other than asking her where she went to school. So, I was surprised to see the code listed as a secondary diagnosis.

Talk me down, please tell me this is no big deal. Came home from a doctor visit with my youngest dd and found this code, Z55.9, listed as a secondary diagnosis. Didn't seem familiar, looked it up, and discovered - problems related to education and literacy, unspecified. There is a bit more detail to the code, all related to problems with school. Called the office, as the doctor had not discussed anything like this with us, and was told that is the homeschool code. I asked what the public school code was & was told no need for a public school code. This is a relatively new doctor for dd and none of the other doctors any of my 4 dc have had have used this code. Is this the norm & our other doctors were just lax? We moved to this location & needed new doctors. Other kids are older and are going to an internist. Thought I would stay with a ped for youngest dd. Neither I nor my dd really liked this doctor, have seen her twice now. We were planning on finding a new doctor even before discovering the homeschool diagnosis. (I know most of you don't know us in real life, but the definition of the code really doesn't fit my dd.) Thank you for any input, insight, whatever... UPDATE. I talked to a nurse at the office this afternoon. She said the doctor says the ICD-10-cm code Z55.9 means homeschooled. End of story from them. I am not sure how to proceed. I would like the code removed as it does not mean homeschooled & its correct meaning does not apply. Any suggestions? I did ask to speak with the doctor and was told she did not want to speak with me. I am open to suggestions. (yes, we will another doctor, but I would like this diagnosis removed.)

Praying.

Voted.

Prayers and :grouphug:

I am so sorry for your loss.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: I am so sorry.

We have started using Naan purchased from Aldi. 4 pieces to a pack. I buy 2 packs for my family.

I agree with the OP. Practically speechless, no idea where to start. Wow.

I too am interested, either in the existing group or a new one.

I am so sorry for your loss.

I voted for Lucy ... because I just luv that name. Both are beautiful names.

When I was young, a friend's mom always put ice in milk before serving. First person/family I met who did that. I was not fond of it then or now.

Praying for your father and all of your family. :grouphug:

I think I live in the wrong area of the country for opportunities for teens to work, especially teens who are athletes. It is not easy to pick up odd jobs around here, unless friends of parents have something, and most people do themselves or hire a professional. My high school kids both run cross country. Morning practice goes from 6 to 7:15a.m. Afternoon practice is from 3:30-6:00. Dinner and homework take up the rest of the evening. Saturday morning are invitationals, only 2 Saturdays do not have an invitational scheduled. Saturday afternoons, evenings and Sundays are the only times available for work. The majority of teen employers around here are not interested in the limited availability. My daughter listed (and stressed) her availability & was hired at a local grocery store. Yea! The store did not look at her listed availability one bit when scheduling. Scheduled her for 26 hrs each week, during practice times, meets & invitationals. And then scheduled her during the school day. So, had to quit the job. Wasn't just a choice b/t sports & job. Not quitting high school to bag groceries. A long way to say, I would be like the OP and consider helping for such a big event.