Report 2 Codes for Chronic, Bilateral Pulmonary Emboli
Question: A provider documented that a patient has chronic bilateral subsegmental pulmonary emboli (PE). What is the correct diagnosis code? Arkansas Subscriber Answer: You’ll actually need two codes to report the diagnosis comprehensively, according to AHA Coding Clinic® (2021: Volume 8, Number 2). You’ll want to report I26.94 (Multiple subsegmental thrombotic pulmonary emboli without acute cor pulmonale) for the condition itself, noting “multiple” in the code descriptor to capture the bilateral nature of the emboli. You’ll also need another code to report the chronic nature of the condition. For the chronic pulmonary embolism, look to I27.82 (Chronic pulmonary embolism). The AHA Coding Clinic® lists I26.94 as the first-reported code in this situation. Remember to double-check the code notes for the parent code to make sure guidelines allow reporting multiple codes in the same code family — which, in this case, they do. Rachel Dorrell, MA, MS, CPC-A, CPPM, Production Editor, AAPC
