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14
Change to ICD-10-CM anticipated
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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is expected to soon alter one of the coding systems that hospitals rely on to bill insurers–a change that some say is necessary, but that could also initially cause confusion for physicians and consumers accustomed to the ICD-9-CM coding system, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Hospitals and insurance companies say the new system, known as ICD-10-CM, is needed to keep up with ongoing medical developments. The planned system would dramatically increase the number of codes used to define ailments and procedures to 155,000, almost 10 times as many codes as are being used today.
CMS says the new system will allow doctors to add more details to patients’ medical records, which could help government and industry efforts to implement a nationwide electronic medical-information system. According to federal officials, the changes will also facilitate the tracking of new diseases as they arise.
To read the report in the Wall Street Journal, click here.
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