Changing from ICD-9 to ICD-10

According to the www.medicaid.gov website, the expected change will happen by October 1, 2014. What is the ICD-10 anyway? “The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD-10) is a coding of diseases, signs and symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or diseases, as classified by the World Health Organization (WHO).” The website further states that: “There have been many new conditions discovered, many new treatments developed, and many new types of medical devices have been placed into service. The ICD-9 code set was not designed to capture all of this progress, and as such, has become bogged down with many types of modifications to attempt to capture information. The ICD-10 code set is much better at describing the current practice of medicine, and has the flexibility to adapt as medicine changes. The updated code sets will allow, and in fact will require, significant changes in the way health plans reimburse services, and in the way coverage of services is determined.”

For more information about ICD-10, please visit http://www.cms.gov/ICD10/.