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Capturing Social Determinants of Health Using Z Codes

ICD-10-CM Codes for SDOH

The ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting for FY 2025 say you can:

  • Use Z codes in any health care setting as either a:
    • First-listed or principal diagnosis code in the inpatient setting
    • Secondary code
  • Use more than 1 Z code at a time
  • Code documented patient self-reported data, including information on an intake form, as SDOH

Visit the CMS ICD-10 webpage to access the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting, including 2024 and 2025 versions. Go to the ICD-10 Files heading on the webpage and click on the 2024 or 2025 dropdown heading to find the guidelines.

A comprehensive listing of ICD-10-CM files, including past and future releases, is also available from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) ICD-10-CM webpage.