Healthy person accompanying sick person

This code identifies an individual who is present with a patient receiving medical care but is not themselves the patient. The accompanying person is generally healthy and does not have a medical condition requiring treatment during the encounter. Their presence is primarily for support, assistance, or to facilitate the patient's care.

This code is appropriate when a healthy individual accompanies a sick or injured patient to a healthcare encounter, such as a doctor's appointment, emergency room visit, or hospital admission. It is used to document the presence of this accompanying person when their role is relevant to the patient's care or the encounter's context, but they are not receiving medical services themselves.

• Assign this code to the healthy individual, not the patient receiving care.
• Do not use if the accompanying person is also receiving medical attention or has their own chief complaint.
• This code is typically a secondary diagnosis, providing additional context to the primary patient's encounter.