Updating Medical Diagnosis Codes

Medical professionals in the United States will soon be making the transition from using ICD-9 codes, to the updated, more efficient ICD-10 code system. The proposed transition date for the United States for these new ICD-10 code sets is October 1, 2011. While this date is still a few years away, it is important that hospitals and healthcare personnel plan and prepare for the transition as soon as possible. Using our abundance of resources on ICD-10 codes, AHIMA strives to educate medical professionals about this transition and ensure they are ready to implement these new diagnosis codes in real healthcare environments.

Contact us today to learn more about how AHIMA can help provide adequate education and preparation for the switch to ICD-10 code sets.

The Importance of Learning ICD-10

After the United State's fixed date for ICD-10 implementation, any medical facility still utilizing ICD-9 codes will become noncompliant and therefore unable to nationally and globally communicate healthcare information. This transition will help maintain a uniform classification system around the globe for medical diagnosis codes. As the only industrialized country in the world to not yet use IDC-10 codes for morbitity reporting, the U.S. needs to adopt this new code set version in order to stay compatible with the rest of the world. Standardized medical diagnosis codes like ICD-10 code sets will allow the U.S. to improve the overall quality of the nation's diagnosis capabilities and medical data by remaining consistent with what is utilized in other countries. This global sharing of medical information will subsequently make is easier to provide better public health and medical safety.

Planning & Preparation Tips From AHIMA

Let AHIMA help you prepare for the transition to ICD-10 codes with the wealth of training courses and resources we have available online. The experience gained from other countries' ICD-10 transitions have helped AHIMA form a greater understanding of the process and will allow us to help you effectively manage your own transition period.

One of the most important aspects of building an ICD-10 code set plan is to start as soon as possible. Starting the education process on this new set of complex medical diagnosis codes will allow for more time to adapt, and gain a full understanding of the code sets as the official transition date moves closer. This early start will also give hospitals and medical facilities the ability to see how the change will affect not only the ongoing education of healthcare personnel, but the medical documentation strategies, coding system costs, and data recording processes as well.

Visit our resources library and view the plethora of information we have available regarding ICD-10 codes and the transition process of using these new medical diagnosis codes. Explore our informative whitepapers, educational webinars, and ICD-10 coding books, or sign up for CodeWrite, AHIMA's monthly newsletter which focuses on improving the skill and knowledge of medical diagnosis coders.

Now is the time for medical professionals to build an effective plan for the use of ICD-10 diagnosis codes in the upcoming years. Sign up for your online membership with AHIMA today to learn more.