Hospital-acquired (Nosocomial) Condition / Healthcare-acquired (Nosocomial) Condition, Are They the Same?
Published on
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
Question:
A few of our providers document that conditions are hospital-acquired while others document healthcare-acquired. Are these two terms synonymous? Are they both assigned as nosocomial?
Answer: Yes. Per Coding Clinic, Fourth Quarter 2013: Page 118,
The term hospital-acquired indicates that a patient has contracted a condition from being in the hospital setting, e.g., inpatient, outpatient, emergency department, etc.
The term healthcare-acquired indicates that a patient has contracted a condition from being in another type of healthcare facility, besides a hospital, e.g., nursing home, rehab, etc.
A documented acquired condition may include pneumonia, sepsis, influenza, etc.
Both documented hospital-acquired conditions and healthcare-acquired conditions can be assigned as a nosocomial condition (Y95), which is found in the External Cause of Morbidity section of the ICD-10-CM Alphabetic Index, under Nosocomial.
Reference
Coding Clinic for ICD-10-CM/PCS, Fourth Quarter 2013: Page 118
Article Author: Susie James, RHIT, CCS
Susie James, RHIT, CCS, is the Manager of Inpatient Coding Services at MMP, Inc. Susie has worked in the coding field for over 30 years and has worked as a coder, coding supervisor, and corporate coding manager for a large multi-facility system in Birmingham. She also worked for Alabama Quality Assurance Foundation (AQAF) as a coding reviewer/auditor before joining the team at Medical Management Plus, Inc. Susie has previously served as the President of the Alabama Association of Health Information Management (AAHIM) on the Board of Directors and currently serves as the Education/Coding Roundtable Chair. She is also a member of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and has previously served as the Co-chair for AHIMA's Leadership Team. She also served as a facilitator at AHIMA's 85th National Convention in Atlanta Georgia.
