The ICD is currently the most widely used statistical classification system for diseases in the world. ICD-9-CM is an adaption created by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and used in assigning diagnostic and procedure codes associated with inpatient, outpatient, and physician office utilization in the United States. The ICD-9-CM is based on the ICD-9, but provides for additional morbidity detail.
The International Classification of Diseases Clinical Modification, 9th Revision (ICD-9 CM) is a list of codes intended for the classification of diseases and a wide variety of signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances, and external causes of injury or disease. The numerical format of the diagnosis codes usually ranges from three to five digits that are assigned to a unique category.
Assigning ICD-9 CM codes to a patients is important because they are recorded and used for morbidity and mortality statistics, reimbursement systems, and automated decision support in medicine. Keep in mind that an incorrect diagnosis can affect a patient’s medical coverage. Physicians and coders should pay close attention to accurate documentation, code assignments, and reporting of diagnoses, signs, or symptoms that are included in a patient’s medical record.
The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is the oldest method of tracking diseases and mortality in the world. It was first developed in Europe, and several versions have evolved over the years. The first edition, known as the International List of Causes of Death, was adopted by the International Statistical Institute in 1893. The current version used in the United States was established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and has seen regular modifications. ICD-9-CM (Clinically Modified) was adopted in United States in 1979. The code set is updated at least once a year, based on the input of providers, payers, and other key stakeholders.
The ICD-9 CM consists of:
- A tabular list of the numerical disease codes;
- An alphabetical index to the disease entries; and
- A classification system for surgical, diagnostic, and therapeutic procedures as an alphabetic index and tabular list.
Medical billers and medical coders need to have a solid understanding of the International Classification of Diseases-9th Edition-Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM). ICD-9-CM is divided into three volumes, the first two of which are composed of diagnosis codes, while the third volume contains a list of available procedure codes.
Inpatient medical coders and medical billers use the third volume to describe medically necessary services that are provided in the hospital setting. All medical coders and billers rely on Volumes 1 and 2 to support the medical necessity of billed healthcare claims.
ICD-9-CM is updated annually as new codes are added to keep current with the current language of medicine, old codes are eliminated that are found to no longer accurately describe current understanding of conditions, and code definitions are modified to provide a more accurate picture of a patient’s state of health.
This course will help lay the foundation of your healthcare data journey and provide you with knowledge and skills necessary to work in the healthcare industry as a data scientist. Healthcare is unique because it is associated with continually evolving and complex processes associated with health management and medical care. You’ll learn about the many facets to consider in healthcare and determine the value and growing need for data analysts in healthcare.
You’ll learn about the Triple Aim and other data-enabled healthcare drivers. We’ll cover different concepts and categories of healthcare data and describe how ontologies and related terms such as taxonomy and terminology organize concepts and facilitate computation.