What is ICD-9?
ICD-9-CM (International Classification of Diseases, 9th edition, Clinical Modifications) is a set of codes used by physicians, hospitals, and allied health workers to indicate diagnosis for all patient encounters. The ICD-9-CM is the HIPAA transaction code set for diagnosis coding. The current International Classification of Diseases can trace its roots back to the Bertillon Classification first published in 1893. Starting in 1900, experts met about every 10 years under the auspices of the French government to revise the classifications. The fifth revision was published just before World War II. The World Health Organization took over responsibility for ICD in 1946 with publication of ICD-6. The intended purpose of the ICD-9 diagnosis codes (Volume 1 and 2) is for statistical tracking of diseases. Nothing more. Codes are added only when it can be demonstrated that it will help in the identification and monitoring of the disease. The current edition in the United States for morbidity cl
