Is switching to ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS really necessary?
Switching to ICD-10 has gained importance because ICD-9 that currently in use is very limited in its approach. Several new conditions and diseases have come to the fore in recent years, and there’s a growing need to compile and document them accurately in order to improve quality of patient care and overall public health. ICD-10 contains 68,000 diagnoses codes and 72,000 procedural codes; and the codes are detailed and convey more information. As a professional coder, it’s important to get necessary training for ICD-10 so you aren’t left behind when the switch is eventually made. CareerStep offers online training in ICD-10 which covers both ICD-10 CM and ICD-10 PCS code training. I’d suggest you find out more about it by looking up http://corporatetraining.careerstep.com/icd-10-code-training .
Yes. The U.S. needs to switch to ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS in order to improve the quality of our nation’s health care data and to maintain clinical data comparability with the rest of the world. The longer we continue to use International Classification of Diseases, 9th Edition, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM), the more difficult it becomes to compile and share accurate disease and mortality data at a time when such global data sharing is critical for public health and safety. The better data provided by ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS will lead to improved patient safety, quality of care, and public health and bio-terrorism monitoring.
