Friends:
Trying to close this out after months and years of having this debate open. How about the following Condition Status. There is a mini-hierarchy in which Admission diagnosis, Referral diagnosis and Discharge diagnosis permuted with Primary and Secondary. There are three Causes of death, which similarly all have Cause of death as the parent.
| Condition Status | Status Ancestor | Status Ancestor |
|---|---|---|
| Admission diagnosis | ||
| Cause of death | ||
| Condition to be diagnosed by procedure | ||
| Confirmed diagnosis | ||
| Contributory cause of death | Cause of death | |
| Discharge diagnosis | ||
| Immediate cause of death | Cause of death | |
| Preliminary diagnosis | ||
| Preoperative diagnosis | ||
| Primary admission diagnosis | Admission diagnosis | Primary diagnosis |
| Primary diagnosis | ||
| Primary discharge diagnosis | Discharge diagnosis | Primary diagnosis |
| Primary referral diagnosis | Referral diagnosis | Primary diagnosis |
| Referral diagnosis | ||
| Resolved condition | ||
| Secondary admission diagnosis | Admission diagnosis | Secondary diagnosis |
| Secondary diagnosis | ||
| Secondary discharge diagnosis | Discharge diagnosis | Secondary diagnosis |
| Secondary referral diagnosis | Referral diagnosis | Secondary diagnosis |
| Suspected diagnosis | ||
| Underlying cause of death | Cause of death |
True, but still: From the instructions: CMS 1500 Field Location 21 “Required Diagnosis or Nature of Illness or Injury” - Enter all letters and/or numbers of the ICD-9-CM code for each diagnosis, including fourth and fifth digits if present. The first diagnosis listed in section 21.1 indicates the primary reason for the service provided.