Monday, 8 October 2012

ICD-10 Coding

By Mel Rivers


An important part of the health care field is that of medical coding. Currently, medical coders are making use of the ICD-9-CM set of codes in order to report diagnoses and procedures used for client's charts and information. Recently, the United States Department of Health and human Services has suggested a new set of codes in order to replace the current ICD-9 code set. The new set of codes has been labeled the ICD-10 and it has a number of significant transitions and differences to the current set of codes being used. While the codes will not go into complete effect until October of 2014, numerous health care suppliers and medical coding companies are already beginning to focus on the new methods.

This new set of codes will not go into full effect until October of 2014, but a number of health care companies are already starting to focus on shifting to the new method of coding. This is because a number of health care suppliers and billers will need to put in a lot of effort into learning the differences and transitions that the new set of codes entails. Numerous professionals in the medical coding field believe that it is already time to start training with the new set of codes. The quicker these medical coders are instructed on this new system the better that the shift will be from ICD9 to ICD10.

Numerous medical coders and billers who will be using this new method are going to have to put a big quantity of effort into learning the new system and the transitions that it entails. Numerous professionals believe that the time to start learning the new system and beginning to implement training is now. The sooner medical coders are educated and instructed on the new set of codes, the easier that the shift from ICD-9 to ICD-10 will be.

The new coding set and system will transition processes in almost all of the departments of a medical practice. From working the front desk, to the nurse's process, it will be vital for all the different areas of a practice to recognize and understand the new system and transitions.

One of the biggest transitions is the number of codes that will be used for client charts. The number of codes is going to improve from 17,000 codes currently in use to over 140,000 more specific and detailed codes. This means a lot more ICD-10 training and memorization of codes and their specific uses.




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