Pulmonology Coding Alert

Question: My physician has put both bronchitis and URI as diagnoses for a patient. Can I code both together?

Mississippi Subscriber

Answer: Going by the physician’s diagnoses, you may code both conditions. URI refers to an upper respiratory tract infection, and bronchitis is not associated with the upper respiratory tract. You may have to zero in on the code for the specific URI such as J00 (Acute nasopharyngitis [common cold]) or J02.~ (Acute pharyngitis) based on the documentation of symptoms and signs. For bronchitis, you may choose the most appropriate code from the J41.~ category, provided the case involves chronic bronchitis or J20.~ for acute bronchitis.