ICD-10-CM and the Panic that Numbers Ensue
For those of you who do not know the meaning of ICD-10-CM , it is the International Classification of Diseases, a lengthy clinical catalog system conjured up by the World Health Organization (WHO) to designate medical codes. Physicians and clinicians everywhere are bound by them, use theses codes for billing and diagnostic purposes. The ICD-10-CM replaces ICD-9 on October 1, 2015. To bill, we need to code, and start with procedures . Your primary care doctor perfunctorily codes hundreds of procedures, ranging from removing a dot on your skin, to listening to lungs, heart beats, peeking down throats and wiggling toes. General check-ups might be called wellness visits , now, because things just have to keep changing. Mental health professionals have only a few procedure codes, a handful, really. Is this an initial evaluation? Group or family therapy? A 15 , 30 , 45 , or maybe a 52 minute -hour? There are a few more. Then come the codes for diagnoses , naturally. Her...