Child psychological abuse, suspected, subsequent encounter

This code signifies a suspected case of psychological abuse inflicted upon a child, where the patient is presenting for follow-up care or further evaluation after the initial encounter. Psychological abuse involves patterns of behavior that harm a child's emotional development or sense of self-worth, such as chronic verbal abuse, terrorizing, isolating, or exploiting. The "suspected" designation indicates that while there is concern, a definitive diagnosis of abuse has not yet been established.

This code is appropriate for subsequent visits when a child is being monitored or further assessed for potential psychological abuse. This includes appointments for counseling, psychiatric evaluation, social work follow-up, or medical examinations related to the suspected abuse. It should be used when the initial suspicion of psychological abuse was documented in a prior encounter.

• Always ensure documentation clearly supports "suspected" psychological abuse and that this is not the initial presentation.
• Pair this code with additional codes for any specific mental health conditions or physical manifestations resulting from the suspected abuse.
• Verify the encounter type is indeed "subsequent" (D) as opposed to initial (A) or sequela (S).