ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding andReporting in 2013

What is ICD-10-CM?

ICD-10-CM also known as “InternationalClassification of Diseases” is generally a set of codes largely utilized mainlyby the physicians, hospitals, Medical Transcription Companies andhealth care expertise or specialists in order to perform an analysis onpatients every visit. The ICD-10-CM system of coding contains approximately68,000 codes and these codes become essential when claiming for any type ofhealth insurance in the U.S.

If we compare ICD-9-CM, we find veryfew alterations are done with ICD-10-CMDraft code set for 2013 which will beeffect from 1st October, 2014. It was decided to make a few changesin the 2013 ICD-10-CM Draft code, by accumulating a couple of terms andrectifying typos in the Alphabetic directory.

Let’s check out the probableadvantages of implementing the latest ICD-10 medical coding system:

• Applicationof this code gives expansion of injury
• Datais collected based on site rather than type of injury
• Mixtureof diagnosis codes
• Calculationof sixth character using some codes extended out o the seventh character
• AddingV and E codes into the main classification

The alterations done by medicaltranscription companies signify huge development over ICD-9-CM and ICD-10.

Some specific improvements done aregiven below:

• Prolongedinjury codes due to adding up of data pertinent to ambulatory and managed careencounters
• Byimplementing a new concept of combination diagnosis/symptom codes, the numberof codes actually needed to explain a condition lessens.
• Accordingto the news, HHS on January 16, 2009, issued a final rule wherein it hasaccepted ICD-10-CM (and ICD-10-PCS) to replace ICD-9-CM in HIPAA transactions.

Impact On Your Medical Coding Employees

This latest system of ICD-10-CM medical coding will bringtremendous level of progress for all the medical transcription companies andU.S. health care system.  The presentsystem of ICD-9-CM is outdated for new codes and limits the coding process. Asmedical transcription person, you require, to familiarize yourself with thelatest system and get the significant training for the same to ensure a smoothtransition.

Ifyou are a medical coder or any professional pertaining to medical servicescompany then it is mandatory for you to get a comprehensive synopsis about theessential changes in store for both diagnostic and procedural coding.

• Apartfrom this, you will be required to get information at length on the impacts ofthe coding changes. The reason behind following this procedure is becauseOctober 1st, 2013 is the last date for compliance. All medical serviceproviders such as Medical Transcription ServiceProviders be it doctors or any other personal offering his medicaltranscription services, it will become necessary for them to get acquaintedwith the new system.
• Youwill need to register yourself in an ICD-10-CM medical coding course in orderto study the new medical coding system, containing approximately 55,000 morecodes. This is not it, a lot more is yet to follow thus, please keep updatedwith the latest and upcoming modifications.

Even supposingchanges done may be little to ICD-10-CM Draft system of coding for the nextcouple of years, we suggest you as a medical coder to study the guidelinescarefully and yearly. Aside from this, you can expect supplementary guidelinesand reporting coming up as we have additional coders training under ICD-10-CM.