ICD. Three letters that you may have encountered in medical coding and billing. What exactly does it mean and what do you need to know about it for your practice? This blog post is dedicated to answering these questions.
ICD stands for International Classification of Diseases. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Classification of Diseases was first known as the International List of Causes of Death, established in 1893, by the International Statistical Institute. Since 1948, the WHO has become the governing body of the ICD standards. ICD-6 was established at that time. Currently ICD-10, the 10th edition is being used. On January 1, 2022, ICD-11 comes into effect.
117 countries use ICD codes but may modify to better fit their healthcare system needs. For example, ICD-10 is currently being used in the United States and modified to ICD-10-CM, a clinical modification. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) developed the ICD-10-PCS, or Procedural Coding System. Currently these are the only 2 being used in the US.
Who Uses ICD Codes?
ICD Codes are used by a wide range of individuals and organizations, including but not limited to, physicians, nurses, coders, researchers, policy makers, and insurers. It is translated into 43 languages for use around the world.
In the medical coding and billing world, ICD codes are used by medical coders when assigning codes to specific diagnosis for billing and submitting claims.
What do ICD Codes Look Like?
Here are some examples of both ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS
Some examples of ICD-10-CM include:
- E08.22, Diabetes mellitus due to an underlying condition with diabetic chronic kidney disease.
- T39.013, Poisoning by aspirin, assault
- T39.014, Poisoning by aspirin, undetermined
ICD-10-CM codes are usually 3 – 7 characters and start with an alpha. The second and third digits are numeric. The rest of the digits can be alpha or numeric. As shown in the examples, these codes are very specific.
Some examples of ICD-10-PCS include:
- B020ZZZ – Computerized Tomography (CT Scan) of Brain
- 06JYXZZ – Inspection of Lower Vein, External Approach
- 4A1209Z – Monitoring of Cardiac Output, Open Approach
ICD-10-PCS codes have 7 characters and each can be alpha or numeric. The number digits can be anything from 0-9 and the letters are any between A-H, J-N, and P-Z.
ICD-11
ICD-11 was adopted in May 2019 and the WHO stated it will go into effect January 1, 2022. It will be for the purpose of reporting and analyzing of mortality and morbidity data. According to the WHO in this fact sheet , ICD-11 will improve ease and accuracy of coding and is more electronic friendly. It will also incorporate substantial advancements in medicine and science of diseases, resulting in a more updated set of codes.
How this implementation will affect the US system is not yet concrete. However, the CDC estimated that ICD-11 for mortality will be implemented no later than 2023. But this information is variable and may change later.
With so much information where can you find resources to learn more about ICD codes? Here are some resources you can access.
Resources:
WHO – The world governing organization for ICD codes. Information on ICD history, purpose and use
ICD in the US – The CDC website on ICD coding transition information and background information:
ICD – The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) website with more ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS resources for the US
Our team at Americare Network has comprehensive knowledge of these codes and how they apply to the billing process. If you’re curious about how our services work and want to learn more about how we can help your healthcare practice, contact us today or book an appointment for a free consultation at your convenience.
