ICD-10 misconceptions and myths busted
HIM-HIPAA Insider, September 8, 2014
Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to HIM-HIPAA Insider!
Myth 1: ICD-10 includes too many codes
Plenty of talk about ICD-10 has focused on the number of codes it contains. Coders will go from 17,849 ICD-9-CM codes to 69,823 ICD-10-CM codes. While the numbers may sound frightening at first glance, the change isn't really that scary, says Sue Bowman, RHIA, CCS, senior director of coding policy and compliance for AHIMA in Chicago.
In fact, Bowman says she is not sure how the idea of "too many codes" took hold in the first place. Think of the code book like a phone book. The Chicago phone book includes considerably more phone numbers than the phone book for Williamsburg, Virginia, but you'd still look up a number the same way in both of them. Similarly, ICD-10-CM contains considerably more codes, but you'll still look them up the same way you did in ICD-9-CM, Bowman says. It's not harder to find the code you want just because one book contains more of them.
In fact, the increased number of codes is actually a positive thing. "The increased specificity makes it easier to know if you are at the right code," Bowman says. "If the code is too ambiguous or vague, you aren't sure."
Many ICD-9-CM codes are open to interpretation. As a result, coders may spend more time trying to choose the most accurate code because they don't have a clear-cut choice. That's particularly true when it comes to reporting inpatient procedures. One ICD-9-CM Volume 3 code can represent more than 100 very different procedures that require different levels of care. That ambiguity can leave coders confused and guessing about correct code selection. ICD-10-PCS contains 71,924 possible codes that provide detailed information about the procedure the physician performed.
ICD-10 codes are also more clinically relevant, says Donna Smith, RHIA, project manager and senior consultant with 3M Health Information Systems in Salt Lake City. "That makes it easier to select the correct code."
Continue reading "Seven ICD-10 misconceptions and myths busted" on the HCPro website. Subscribers to Briefings on Coding Compliance Strategies have free access to this article in the September issue.
Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to HIM-HIPAA Insider!
Related Products
Most Popular
- Articles
-
- CMS puts hospital surveys on limited hold as surge continues
- Don't forget the three checks in medication administration
- Practice the six rights of medication administration
- Note similarities and differences between HCPCS, CPT® codes
- Q&A: Primary, principal, and secondary diagnoses
- The consequences of an incomplete medical record
- Nursing responsibilities for managing pain
- Skills of effective case managers
- OB services: Coding inside and outside of the package
- ICD-10-CM coma, stroke codes require more specific documentation
- E-mailed
-
- CMS puts hospital surveys on limited hold as surge continues
- Charge and bill Medicare all pre-operative diagnostic tests
- Know guidelines and subtle differences in code descriptions for laceration repairs
- How to create a safety protocol for emergency department psychiatric patients
- Get the facts on emergency department FAST exams
- Understand how to report services during the global period for minor surgeries
- Study: Male residents are twice as likely to interrupt
- Q&A: Report separately payable drugs under revenue code 0636
- Q&A: Mechanical room storage, risk assessments, patient rooms
- Capturing start and stop times for infusions
- Searched