What are POA indicators and when are they required?

What are POA indicators and when are they required?

A POA indicator is the data element, shown as a single letter, that a medical coder assigns based on whether a diagnosis was present when the patient was admitted or not. . A Present On Admission (POA) indicator is required on all diagnosis codes for the inpatient setting except for admission.

What are the 5 POA indicators?

POA Indicators and Definitions Diagnosis was present at time of inpatient admission. Diagnosis was not present at time of inpatient admission. Documentation insufficient to determine if the condition was present at the time of inpatient admission. Clinically undetermined.

What codes are exempt from POA indicators?

A POA indicator for the external cause of injury code is not required unless it is being reported as an “other diagnosis” on the UB-04. External cause of injury (ECI) codes (Chapter 20 ICD10-CM) are exempt from present on admission (POA) reporting.

Are POA indicators assigned to primary diagnosis?

Subsequent to the assignment of the ICD-10-CM codes, the POA Indicator should be assigned to all diagnoses that have been coded.

What type of claim needs POA indicator?

POA Code is needed for: The POA indicator is required for all inpatient admissions of Medicaid members discharged on or after July 1, 2009 (including those that are exempt per Medicare). A POA indicator is required for all diagnosis codes.

What conditions are always considered POA?

Present on admission is defined as a condition that is present at the time the order for inpatient admission occurs. That means that conditions that develop during any outpatient encounter “including in the emergency department or during observation or outpatient surgery “are considered to be present on admission.

What is POA indicator E mean?

present on admission
The present on admission (POA) indicator code associated with the diagnosis E codes (principal and secondary). In response to the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, CMS began to distinguish between hospitalization diagnoses that occurred prior to versus during the admission.

What is POA indicator on ub04?

On the UB-04, the POA indicator is the eighth digit of Field Locator (FL) 67, Principal Diagnosis, and the eighth digit of each of the Secondary Diagnosis fields, FL 67 A–Q. Report the applicable POA indicator (Y, N, U, or W) for the principal diagnosis and any secondary diagnoses as the eighth digit.

Which conditions are always considered present on admission POA?

What does POA indicator u mean?

POA is defined as being present at the time the order for inpatient admission occurs. Conditions that develop during an outpatient encounter (including emergency department, observation, or outpatient surgery) are considered POA.

  • September 30, 2022