Diagnosis Present On Admission (POA) Indicator
This field identifies the patient’s condition that is present at the time the order for inpatient admission to a general acute care hospital occurs. This indicator is assigned to every principal and secondary diagnosis on an inpatient acute care hospital claim, and the external cause of injury codes. Conditions that develop during an outpatient encounter, including emergency department, observation, or outpatient surgery, are considered as present on admission. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) does not require a POA indicator for the external cause of injury code unless it is being reported as another diagnosis. Effective with discharges on or after 10/01/07.
Some additional information on this variable: