The ICD-9 code sets used to report medical diagnoses and inpatient procedures will be replaced by ICD-10 code sets, October 1st 2015.
About ICD-10
ICD-10-CM/PCS (International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition, Clinical Modification /Procedure Coding System) consists of two parts:
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ICD-10-CM for diagnosis coding
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ICD-10-PCS for inpatient procedure coding
ICD-10-CM is for use in all U.S. health care settings. Diagnosis coding under ICD-10-CM uses 3 to 7 digits instead of the 3 to 5 digits used with ICD-9-CM, but the format of the code sets is similar.
The transition to ICD-10 is occurring because ICD-9 produces limited data about patients’ medical conditions and hospital inpatient procedures. ICD-9 is 30 years old, has outdated terms, and is inconsistent with current medical practice. Also, the structure of ICD-9 limits the number of new codes that can be created, and many ICD-9 categories are full.
Who Needs to Transition
ICD-10 will affect diagnosis and inpatient procedure coding for everyone covered in Health Care. The change to ICD-10 does not affect CPT coding for outpatient procedures.
