The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD-10) is set to replace the ICD-9 system of coding as of October 1, 2013. Although this change is still a few years off, the healthcare industry is already starting to get prepared for what this new system will entail. This article will describe the ICD coding system and some of the changes that we will see between ICD-9 and ICD-10.

Originally created by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a method of codifying: (a) diseases and (b) signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or diseases, this system will be expanded from the 17,000 codes under ICD-9 to more than 155,000 different codes under the new ICD-10. This expanded set of ICD-10 codes permits tracking of many new diagnoses and procedures.

Although very similar to the ICD-9 system, the following highlight some of the differences that healthcare providers can expect to see in ICD-10:

ICD-10 codes will be longer and will be alphanumeric. Whereas ICD-9’s were strictly 5 digit codes, ICD-10’s will be a seven character code comprised of both numbers and letters.

There will be less ambiguity under the ICD-10 system since codes will address much more specific diagnoses. There will, however, be non-specific codes available for use when the provided documentation does not contain sufficient information for a more specific coding assignment.

Complex conditions will require one code rather than two due to the expanded, more specific set of codes.

With the availability of an expanded, more specific set of diagnosis codes, the descriptions for diagnoses under ICD-9 will be updated to terminology more appropriate to each individual, specific condition.

Physician practices will only use a subset of the new ICD-10 codes, the ICD-10CM’s (Clinical Modifications) as opposed to the ICD-PCS’s (Procedure Coding System) which will be used by hospitals. Despite this change to the ICD-10 system for recording diagnoses, physicians will continue to use Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes and Healthcare Procedural Coding System (HCPCS) codes to document the actual physician services provided.

Next month, we’ll discuss some of the steps that physician practices can take now in preparation for the move to the ICD-10 system.

If you have any specific questions regarding this article or if you would like to suggest a topic for upcoming articles, feel free to call or email Jeff Moffatt at (877) BLUE CPA or jmoffatt@blueandco.com.