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Greetings!
"The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress."
Charles F. Kettering
Prolific American Inventor; holder of 186 Patents
1876-1958
On October 1, 2013, the ICD9 conversion to ICD10 will take place and it represents a major overhaul of a 30 year old coding system. This change allows for greater specificity to identify disease origins and severity as many ICD9 categories and codes were outdated, full or inconsistent with today's approach to medicine. (Read the full article)
The transition affects anyone covered by the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA). While workers' compensation insurance does not fall under HIPAA requirements, many carriers are preparing for the transition due to its major impact on medical bill reimbursement rates.
The International Classification of Diseases (Clinical Modification) and (Procedural Coding System) consists of two parts.
■ ICD-10 CM, used for diagnosis coding allows much more specific coding methodology going from a 3 to 5 digit set in ICD9 to a 3 to7 digit set. The actual codes grow from roughly 13,000 to 68,000. The United States has been using ICD10 for Mortality since 1999.
■ ICD-10 PCS, used for inpatient hospital coding offers a more specific description of a medical condition going from a 3 or 4 digit set to a 7 alphanumeric set. It replaces ICD-9-CM, Volume 3.
The crossover occurs for Dates of Service or Dates of Discharge on October 1. Outpatient services still use the AMA CPT® coding set.
Recently the AMA (American Medical Assn) has met with US House Congressional Leadership to stop the transition due to the number of changes already underway in the Affordable Care Act. It is suggested to stay up-to-date with the ICD10 implementation deadlines.
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