Assigning Chapter 16 "P" codes after DOL 28

Sarah.priceSarah.price
in Pediatrics

The Coding Guidelines state, Chapter 16: Certain Conditions Originating in the Perinatal Period (P00-P96). For coding and reporting purposes the perinatal period is defined as before birth through the 28th day following birth.

For babies with a long length of hospital stay (e.g., extremely preterm infants), are chapter 19 "P" codes still assigned for new conditions that develop after the perinatal period has ended, or should we assign only codes from other chapters after day of life 28, as the guideline would seem to indicate?

My institution has always assigned "P" codes throughout the hospital stay without regard to the perinatal period, but I am wondering if this is incorrect.

Comments

  • amynoellebushamynoellebush

    Hi Sarah:

    Yes, if the baby was admitted to your institution prior to 28 days, you will use P codes throughout their stay. You may also use codes from other chapters per the guidelines if they are more appropriate/specific for the condition you are trying to capture.

  • Sarah.priceSarah.price

    Thank you for the clarification, Amy. 🙂

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