When do ICD-9-CM code changes take place?
The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics announces changes to the ICD9-CM every summer and the new codes go into effect on Oct. 1. In the past, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) allowed physicians to use both the old and the new diagnosis codes for the first three months of implementation, but that has not been the case for a number of years. Physicians must now discontinue use of deleted codes and begin use of new codes every October. Q: Will any changes made this year affect internists? A: The changes this year were relatively modest, but some changes will affect the diagnoses codes used by internists. The following changes take place Oct. 1, 2006. The first two sections are codes that were deleted in favor of more specific five digit ICD-9-CM codes. Deleted: 288.0 Agranulocytosis Replaced with: 288.00 – Neutropenia, unspecified 288.01 – Congenital neutropenia 288.02 – Cyclic neutropenia 288.03 – Drug-induced neutropenia 288.04 – Neutropenia due to infection
