ED Coding and Reimbursement Alert
Use 1 Code for Pneumonia With Flu
Question: We saw a 35-year-old patient who was complaining of flu-like symptoms that persisted for two to three weeks. The patient was experiencing a harsh cough with greenish-yellow mucus, shortness of breath, and a sharp pain when breathing deeply. While giving their history, the patient mentioned they had the flu earlier in the month. The ED physician listened to the patient’s lungs and documented they heard bubbling sounds during inhalation. The physician ordered pulse oximetry and a sputum test, after which they diagnosed the patient with pneumonia due to the flu. Which diagnosis codes should we report? Tennessee Subscriber Answer: In this scenario, it may seem like you should report two ICD-10-CM codes (one for pneumonia and one for the flu), there’s actually one code that covers both. You can use J10.00 (Influenza due to other identified influenza virus with unspecified type of pneumonia) to document this diagnosis, since the physician diagnosed the patient with pneumonia due to the flu, but they did not specify the influenza type.
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Use 1 Code for Pneumonia With Flu
Question: We saw a 35-year-old patient who was complaining of flu-like symptoms that persisted for two [...]
