The 2025 ICD-10-CM update introduces new, detailed classifications for milk and egg allergies, improving the accuracy of allergy documentation and billing. These refinements help healthcare providers describe allergy severity, distinguish between baked product tolerance and reactivity, and maintain compliance in electronic medical records.
Although milk and egg allergies are more prevalent among children, the newly introduced codes are applicable to all age groups, ensuring better clinical insight and precise reporting for every patient.
Food allergies affect nearly 8% of children and up to 4% of adults, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Among the most common culprits are milk and eggs, which can cause mild to severe allergic reactions.
Recent allergy research emphasizes the need to differentiate between individuals who react to all forms of these foods and those who can safely tolerate baked versions. The 2025 ICD-10 revisions directly support this need, helping allergists and other clinicians document allergy subtypes more accurately and tailor care accordingly.
Until now, clinicians used two broad ICD-10 codes:
These have been retired and replaced with a more refined list of subcodes that highlight the patient’s tolerance level.
These revisions give clinicians a more comprehensive picture of allergy severity, supporting improved care plans, clinical studies, and public health data.
Clinical Context and Benefits
While milk and egg allergies commonly begin in early childhood, the new ICD-10 codes apply to both pediatric and adult patients. Being able to record whether a person tolerates baked versions of these allergens adds critical detail to their allergy profile.
A study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology reports that around 70–80% of children allergic to milk or eggs can safely consume baked forms of these foods. Monitoring and documenting this tolerance can aid in desensitization strategies and better nutritional planning.
For healthcare providers, these new ICD-10 changes offer several advantages:
Modern Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems, such as ModuleMD , have already incorporated the 2025 ICD-10 allergy code updates. This integration enables providers to select the correct subcodes with ease, reducing documentation errors and ensuring billing accuracy.
By using the latest code structure, clinics can streamline workflows, meet payer requirements, and contribute to consistent, high-quality allergy data collection across healthcare networks. It also supports better tracking of patient progress in tolerance-building or immunotherapy programs.
Conclusion
The 2025 ICD-10 code update represents a major step toward greater precision in allergy documentation . By replacing the outdated codes with nuanced classifications, healthcare professionals can now clearly distinguish between tolerance and reactivity to baked milk and egg products.
Although inspired by pediatric allergy research, these codes are valid for all age groups, enhancing the quality of care for children and adults alike.
With platforms like ModuleMD AI EHR integrating these updates, clinicians can focus more on patient care and less on administrative complexity — achieving accurate documentation, faster reimbursements, and improved clinical outcomes.
ModuleMD enables practices to progress beyond observation, embrace precision, and deliver better patient outcomes.
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