When a patient has a condition that is both acute and chronic, how should it be coded?

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Multiple Choice

When a patient has a condition that is both acute and chronic, how should it be coded?

When a condition is documented as both acute and chronic, you code both codes to reflect the active episode and the long-standing condition. The acute code is sequenced first to show the current, in-progress problem, followed by the chronic code to capture the ongoing disease. This aligns with coding guidelines that require reporting both aspects when both are present. Coding only the chronic would miss the current acute issue, coding only the acute would omit the chronic condition, and listing chronic before acute reverses the required order.

When a condition is documented as both acute and chronic, you code both codes to reflect the active episode and the long-standing condition. The acute code is sequenced first to show the current, in-progress problem, followed by the chronic code to capture the ongoing disease. This aligns with coding guidelines that require reporting both aspects when both are present. Coding only the chronic would miss the current acute issue, coding only the acute would omit the chronic condition, and listing chronic before acute reverses the required order.

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