In simple words: The patient has had pneumonia more than once.

Personal history of pneumonia (recurrent).This code indicates that the patient has a history of pneumonia that has occurred more than once.

Example 1: A patient presents for a routine check-up and mentions having had pneumonia twice in the past. The physician documents this history using Z87.01., A patient with a history of recurrent pneumonia is being evaluated for a new cough. The physician includes Z87.01 in the diagnostic coding to reflect the patient's past respiratory issues., A patient is admitted to the hospital with pneumonia.The physician documents the patient's history of multiple previous pneumonia episodes with Z87.01, along with the code for the current pneumonia (e.g., J18.9 Pneumonia, unspecified organism).

Documentation of the previous pneumonia diagnoses is essential. Ideally, this should include dates of diagnoses, types of pneumonia if known, and any complications experienced. Clear documentation of "recurrent" or multiple episodes is necessary to support the use of Z87.01 rather than the more general personal history of pneumonia code.

** Code first any follow-up examination after treatment (Z09).