ICD-10: The Only Thing Constant is Change
On August 15, 2008, HHS released a proposed rule calling for replacement of the ICD-9 diagnosis coding system, used by health care providers to code and bill for medical services, to be replaced by a newer, more detailed system known as ICD-10. HHS proposes that this change would take affect October 1, 2011 and, while 25 months of notice may be a good thing, it also may not be enough time for many providers and, more importantly, many payers, including Medicare and BCBS to effectuate a shift to the new coding system. Where the ICD-9 sytem contains approximately 17,000 codes for the identification of various diagnosis that relate to patient care services, the new ICD-10 system contains over 155,000.
This anticipated ship presents huge opportunites for consultants and coding and billing software vendors and, likely, further financial resources drains for health care providers.
Read more from the copy of the HHS press release concerning this proposed rule.
A copy of the regulations themselves are located here.
