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Z51.5 ICD-10-CA code: Palliative care

Z51.5 is the ICD-10-CA code for “Palliative care” in CIHI’s FY 2026–2027 release, in effect from Apr 1, 2026.

Official description

Z51.5

Palliative care

ICD-10-CA · Canada · Also written Z515

Index terms

Entries in CIHI’s alphabetical index that lead to Z51.5. Searching the index by the condition the note names is how coders reach this code.

  • Admission (for), palliative care
  • Care (of) (for) (following), palliative

Notes for Z51.5

As CIHI prints them, with any note Z51.5 takes from the headings above it.

Excludes

Conditions classified elsewhere.

Note

  • Categories (Z40-Z54) are intended for use to indicate a reason for care. They may be used for patients who have already been treated for a disease or injury, but who are receiving follow-up or prophylactic care, convalescent care, or care to consolidate the treatment, to deal with residual states, to ensure that the condition has not recurred, or to prevent recurrence.From Z40-Z54 Persons encountering health services for specific procedures and health care
  • This chapter should not be used for international comparison or for primary mortality coding.Categories Z00-Z99 are provided for occasions when circumstances other than a disease, injury or external cause classifiable to categories A00-Y89 are recorded as "diagnoses" or "problems". This can arise in two main ways:(a) When a person who may or may not be sick encounters the health services for some specific purpose, such as to receive limited care or service for a current condition, to donate an organ or tissue, to receive prophylactic vaccination or to discuss a problem which is in itself not a disease or injury.(b) When some circumstance or problem is present which influences the person's health status but is not in itself a current illness or injury. Such factors may be elicited during population surveys, when the person may or may not be currently sick, or be recorded as an additional factor to be borne in mind when the person is receiving care for some illness or injury.From Chapter 21: Factors influencing health status and contact with health services (Z00-Z99)

Where Z51.5 sits

  1. 1ChapterChapter 21: Factors influencing health status and contact with health services (Z00-Z99)
  2. 2Block Z40-Z54Persons encountering health services for specific procedures and health care
  3. 3Category Z51Other medical care
  4. 4Valid code Z51.5Palliative care

Source and release

Data release
ICD-10-CA · FY 2026–2027
Effective date
Apr 1, 2026
Publisher
CIHI

This page is built from the ICD-10-CA catalog that Vero Codes reads when it suggests codes: Canadian Institute for Health Information’s FY 2026–2027 release, imported from the publisher’s file and checked against it. The description, notes and structured data come from the same record.

See Z51.5 in the CIHI source

Frequently asked questions

What does ICD-10-CA code Z51.5 mean?

Z51.5 is the ICD-10-CA code for “Palliative care” in CIHI’s ICD-10-CA FY 2026–2027 release.

Where is Z51.5 in ICD-10-CA?

Z51.5 sits under Z51 Other medical care, within Z40-Z54 Persons encountering health services for specific procedures and health care, within Chapter 21: Factors influencing health status and contact with health services (Z00-Z99).

What coding notes apply to Z51.5?

ICD-10-CA lists Excludes, Note notes for Z51.5, including those from the headings it sits under. They are listed on this page with where each one comes from.

Which ICD-10-CA release does this page use?

It uses CIHI’s FY 2026–2027 release, in effect from Apr 1, 2026 to Mar 31, 2027. It is a reference: confirm the code against the current list and the payer’s rules before you submit it.

Codes beside Z51.5

Z51.0Radiotherapy sessionZ51.1Chemotherapy session for neoplasmZ51.2Other chemotherapyZ51.3Blood transfusion (without reported diagnosis)Z51.4Preparatory care for subsequent treatment, not elsewhere classifiedZ51.6Desensitization to allergensZ51.8Other specified medical careZ51.9Medical care, unspecified