Contents
What does POA stand for in medical coding?
To group diagnoses into the proper MS-DRG, CMS needs to identify a Present on Admission (POA) Indicator for all diagnoses reported on claims involving inpatient admissions to general acute care hospitals.
How do you code POA?
The CMS has designated the following five indicators that coders must use with ICD-9 codes when billing for POA conditions.
- Y: Present at the time of inpatient admission.
- N: Not present at the time of inpatient admission.
- U: Documentation is insufficient to determine if condition is POA.
Why do we have POA indicators?
Present on admission is defined as the conditions present at the time the order for inpatient admission occurs. The POA indicator is intended to differentiate conditions present at the time of admission from those conditions that develop during the inpatient admission.
What is a POA exempt code?
The Present on Admission Exempt (POA) indicator is used for diagnosis codes included in claims involving inpatient admissions to general acute care hospitals. POA is defined as present at the time the order for inpatient admission occurs.
What are poa guidelines?
What Is a POA Indicator? 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 does Poa stand for in medical category?
POA indicator is assigned to principal and secondary diagnoses (as defined in Section II of the Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting) and the external cause of injury codes. Issues related to inconsistent, missing, conflicting or unclear documentation must still be resolved by the provider.
What happens if a POA indicator is not reported?
Issues related to inconsistent, missing, conflicting or unclear documentation must still be resolved by the provider. If a condition would not be coded and reported based on UHDDS definitions and current official coding guidelines, then the POA indicator would not be reported.
When to use the POA indicator in ICD-10?
Subsequent to the assignment of the ICD-10-CM codes, the POA indicator should then be assigned to those conditions that have been coded.
What is the determining factor for POA assignment?
The determining factor for POA assignment is whether the pregnancy complication or obstetrical condition described by the code was present at the time of admission or not. If the pregnancy complication or obstetrical condition was present on admission (e.g., patient admitted in preterm labor), assign “Y”.