Is Z22.321 a billable ICD-10-CM code?

Yes. Z22.321 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.

Where does Z22.321 sit in the tabular list?

Factors influencing health status and contact with health services (Z00-Z99), in the block Persons with potential health hazards related to communicable diseases (Z20-Z29).

Z22.321

Z22.321 — Carrier or suspected carrier of Methicillin susceptible Staphylococcus aureus

Billable / specific codeICD-10-CMPOA exempt

Z22.321 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for carrier or suspected carrier of methicillin susceptible staphylococcus aureus. It is valid for submission on a claim.

Inclusion terms

Alternative wordings a physician may use in the chart for this same code.

MSSA colonization

Excludes2 inherited from the categories above Z22.321

Also inherited, and the opposite of Excludes1: these conditions are not part of Z22.321, but a patient can have both, so you may code both.

Written on Z22 — Carrier of infectious disease

carrier of viral hepatitis (B18.-)

Other codes that can never be billed with Z22.321

These codes carry an Excludes1 note pointing at Z22.321. The conflict binds both ways, but ICD-10-CM only writes it down on one side — so you would not find this by reading Z22.321 alone.

Z20Contact with and (suspected) exposure to communicable diseases
R82.7Abnormal findings on microbiological examination of urine
R83.5Abnormal microbiological findings in cerebrospinal fluid
R84.5Abnormal microbiological findings in specimens from respiratory organs and thorax
R85.5Abnormal microbiological findings in specimens from digestive organs and abdominal cavity
R86.5Abnormal microbiological findings in specimens from male genital organs
R87.5Abnormal microbiological findings in specimens from female genital organs
R89.5Abnormal microbiological findings in specimens from other organs, systems and tissues

Risk adjustment

Z22.321 does not map to an HCC and does not risk-adjust under CMS-HCC V28. That is normal — most ICD-10 codes do not. It still needs to be coded correctly; it just will not move a RAF score.

Medicare coverage

Z22.321 is named in 1 Medicare coverage policy — 0 listing it as supporting medical necessity, and 1 listing it as NOT covered. Which of them applies to you depends on your Medicare contractor, and coverage genuinely differs by state.

A52379Billing and Coding: CPT Code 87641 (Infectious agent detection by nucleic acid (DNA or RNA); Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin resistant, amplified probe technique)not covered

How Z22.321 is indexed

Coders do not find codes by browsing the tabular list — they look them up in the alphabetic index, under the word the physician wrote. These are the index entries that lead here, so you can see which chart wordings map to Z22.321.

Carrier of›staphylococci(Methicillin susceptible)
Colonization›MSSA(Methicillin susceptible Staphylococcus aureus)
Carrier of›bacterial disease NEC›staphylococcal(Methicillin susceptible)
Positive›culture›nose›staphylococcus(Methicillin susceptible)

Code history

Z22.321 has not changed since FY2024 — no addition, revision or deletion across the three most recent ICD-10-CM releases.

Related codes at this level

Codes that share Z22.32. If Z22.321 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.

Z22.322Carrier or suspected carrier of Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Questions about Z22.321

Is Z22.321 a billable ICD-10-CM code?: Yes. Z22.321 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
Where does Z22.321 sit in the tabular list?: Factors influencing health status and contact with health services (Z00-Z99), in the block Persons with potential health hazards related to communicable diseases (Z20-Z29).