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Understand the physician perspective on ICD-10 and learn to help them through the transition

HIM-HIPAA Insider, December 21, 2015

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When ICD-10 plans first became a reality, the first thing almost everyone focused on was the number of new codes. There should not be a strict emphasis on this fact. Although it is true that the number of codes has increased, the increase can be explained in the context of the concepts that have been added to each coding element. About one-third of the new codes are due to added laterality. Also, a single additional concept for a combination code will have a multiplicative effect. As an example, Crohn’s disease can be of the large intestine, the small intestine, both the large and small intestine, or an unspecified intestine (four locations). Adding one of seven complication concepts to each location of Crohn’s disease will multiply these four codes by seven, resulting in 28 codes. Yet Crohn’s disease did not change, nor did ICD-10-CM add 24 new types of Crohn’s disease pathology.

This article was originally published in HIM Briefings (formerly Medical Records Briefing). Subscribers can access the full article in the December 2015 issue.

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